Dark Messiah
by nexusmaster
Summary: Weil, the madman who plagued the final years of Zero's life is not finished yet. His legacy has risen and it is up to the Chosen Ones to stop it. However, Weil wasn't the only one planning. VentxAile AshexGrey Prairiex? Many old faces return to fight!
1. 00

**A/N: This is my first Rockman fic, and I decided on the ZX series because it seems to be underappreciated. Don't worry though; there are mentions of the X and Zero series in this also. For clarification, RebornEnvy beat me to the general idea, so credit for it goes to him. This will differ from the Telos translations of the events before the Zero series.**

**Disclaimer: Anything with the word Mega man or Rockman anything is not mine. Ocs are mine though.**

**CH00: War Diary**

"GO FORWARD!" A reploid in white and black armor directed the other members of his squad in said direction. Mortar rounds were landing all around them, bits of shrapnel flying around the already hot battle zone. Blasts of plasma whizzed by the heads of the squad as they pressed forward, their plasma guns aimed and firing at enemies.

"Sniper," Another yelled when a single beam of plasma struck his squad-mate square in his head, "take cover!" He grabbed his friend's corpse before it fell and dragged it behind a demolished hover vehicle, "HQ, we're pinned down about three miles from the main facility!" The reploid ducked down further when plasma rounds struck the vehicle. He repeated his phrase into the communicator, hoping he'd get through to the one on the other side of the line soon.

"This is Alia, I'm reading you loud and clear, we're sending in some air cover. Please throw the signal flare when you hear the helicopter's propellers." A female voice advised the slightly panicked reploid.

"Rodger that, we'll hold on until the bird arrives." The white armored foot-soldier waved to his squad-leader, signaling that air support was on its way. Another burst of plasma fire forced his hand down. A yell made his body react instinctively, taking up his rifle. The squad moved forward, shooting down the mindless minions of their enemy. Soon, the loud humming of a helo was heard, the airship's guns easily cutting down the remaining enemies.

---------

A reploid clad in blue armor watched the fighting on a virtual screen. His eyes scanned the city's diagram solemnly, seeing the amount of force needed to stop the newest threat to man and reploid kind, 'Will it ever end?' He thought sadly. He glanced back when he heard the door hiss open, his old and most trusted friend walking inside, "Are we deploying Zero?"

"Not yet X," The crimson bomber stood beside his friend, "the higher-ups want to get a few squads to secure a moderately safe path before they send us in."

X sighed and rubbed his closed eyes, "Any word on Axl's group?"

At this, the one named Zero smirked, "They're the closest to securing a way, it seems the squad he was assigned to lead were some pretty good shots." Zero placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, sensing his sadness, "After this X, you will be able to make the world a better place." Zero took the silence that followed as a silent agreement. However, he had plans of his own to take care of, plans he had yet to reveal to his closest friend, 'I'll make sure of it.'

"X, Zero, it's time for you two to head in." Both reploids turned to look at their operator, the blonde female reploid that had been guiding them since they were promoted. Her hair remained long, but due to recent upgrades, many of the Maverick Hunters, including the two bombers, had been refitted with thinner armor.

"Alright Alia, we're already prepared to deploy." X gave her quick smile and walked passed her, his eyes becoming focused.

Alia looked after the blue bomber with worry in her eyes. Ever since the start of the Elf Wars, X's attitude had plummeted to the brink of depression, "I hope he'll be alright Zero, he doesn't seem to smile very often like he used to."

The sword toting warrior walked past Alia, "Don't worry, after this, he'll get to accomplish his dream."

"Yes, the Council has been in an uproar; I heard only one person voted for X _not_ to become the leader of the free world." Alia smiled softly, hoping this would all work out. She looked to her friend when he put his helmet over his golden head. Zero's armor had become more confined, his appearance becoming more humanlike even with his armor on.

"We're off; we'll end this once and for all Alia." With that, Zero walked towards the hangar, the drop-ship already warmed up.

----------

"How are things coming along?" A mechanic asked one of his subordinates. He looked at the screen, examining the data on the two containment devices.

"Project Anti-Zero is ready, all we need is Zero and it'll be activated." The subordinate looked back, "Are you sure about this sir, is the world really ready for one of their heroes to… you know… leave?"

The mechanic sighed sadly, "I know, but Commander Zero ordered for the device to be built. What's the status on Project Exilion?"

"Project Exilion is already in progress sir; if anything goes wrong during Project Anti-Zero, Exilion will wake up and take care of it." The subordinate showed his superior the charts.

'Good, but I hope to God that we won't need to wake up Exilion.' The mechanic looked through the viewing glass and at a containment machine; a reploid in mid-production was sleeping in the large device, his body lying in the middle of the room-tall pillar.

----------

Zero shoved his Z-saber into the entrance door of the large tower, the door failing to stop his legendary weapon. As the door fell, X shot through the smoke, his plasma shots killing a few guard reploids. Three pixie looking reploids flew out of the smoke and circled X.

"Thank you for helping us." They thanked the two Maverick Hunters and started away, giggling as they enjoyed their freedom.

"Starting the party without me?" Both X and Zero looked back to see Axl grinning at them, ten other Maverick Hunters behind him. All of them were wearing full combat armor, toting high-grade rifles in their hands.

"Just because you're slow kid…" Zero poked fun at the youngest and newest member to the club. Axl simply growled and started in, his pistols ready for action.

"Five of you secure the stairs; we'll make this a checkpoint." Axel ordered his squad, five of the reploids following his orders. The rest ran up the stairs, encircling the trio of legendary reploids.

---

"Weil, freeze!" X raised his X Buster, ordering the deranged mad-man to cease his activities on the control panel.

"I'd rather not X, I have much too important business to attend to." Weil continued his work, ignoring the clicking of loading guns. However, he stopped again when a shot of plasma struck the controls just to his left. The psychopath turned to glare at Zero, his own Buster giving off a faint smoke, "You defeat my seven subordinates, foil my plans of perfecting this rotten world, and severely damage the true form of your best friend, and for what? A few measly humans X?"

"You're human yourself, now step down from the controls and put your hands where we can see them!" X aimed for Weil's head, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Very well, I surrender X, there's little point in fighting when I have no weapons of my own." Weil did as X instructed and allowed the Maverick Hunters to hand-cuff him. However, as he stared into the eyes of both X and Zero, he gave a twisted smirk.

X followed him with his eyes. In Weil's eyes was not remorse, nor was there fear… but a knowing glint that foreshadowed trouble, 'I'll put you away for life Weil, you won't threaten innocence again.'

Zero looked through the orange colored glass that was beyond the control panels, a chill going down his spine. He knew full well what the monstrosity in front of him was, 'It's the piece of me that I hate.' Zero was snapped from his thoughts when X shook him lightly.

"Zero, you alright?" X asked in concern. He'd fought his friend and evil versions of his friend far too many times; he didn't think he could take another fight with Zero.

"Yeah X, I'm fine, now let's go make sure Weil and this thing get what they deserve." He followed Axel and X out, their senses on edge. This was too easy.

Weil continued to cooperate, making sure the Maverick Hunters holding him didn't see him press a button on his wrist, the twisted smirk still placed firmly on his face, 'Omega wasn't the only thing my brilliant mind did with Wiley's genius.'

---

"Professor Joseph F. Weil, do you deny the charges of causing civil unrest, the genocide of both reploid and human kind, and building weapons capable of destroying all of man and reploid kind?" One of the Supreme Councilmen leered down on the old scientist, his colleagues doing the same.

"No, I don't." Weil kept on smirking, not a hint of regret in his voice.

"Then we sentence both you and Omega to solitary confinement inside the Space Coffin Ragnarok with no chance of bail, adjourned." An aged Council Woman finalized the sentence on Weil, the sentence having no effect on the insane scientist.

As the guards took Weil away, X walked in. X glared at the psycho, Weil returning the look with his own. When the large Court doors closed, X broke the glaring contest and looked up at the Supreme Council.

"Maverick Hunter X, you know the reason why you are here?" The Supreme Councilman asked. When X nodded, he continued, "Then we hereby grant upon you, title of President, we hope that you will continue to serve the people as you have been."

"Thank you; I will do just that Supreme Council members." X exited the Court Room, his eyes showing his fatigue of combat and constant fighting. The Elf Wars were finally over, but not before nearly everything was wiped out. The population needed a haven to call home, a beacon of hope, 'I plan on giving them just that.'

---------

It has been fifty years since the end of the Elf Wars, and X's plans had proved to be both difficult, but productive. He had an entire city built from the ground up, giving it the name, Neo Arcadia. He looked at the still ongoing construction from his tall office building, admiring how the humans and reploids walked and talked in peace. A small smile came across his face, his dream was becoming a reality, and it felt great.

"Going to skip out on the paperwork again _sir_?" X looked towards the door to see Alia walk in, a smile on her face. Ever since he had become the leader of the free world, Alia had quit the Maverick Hunters to be his personal assistant, upon other things. She walked over and placed another pile of paperwork in front of him.

X sighed at the ever growing pile, "It never seems to get smaller Alia," He looked up at her, "and I still have the defense forces to worry about."

Alia slipped in behind X and kissed him on the top of his head, "I know, nobody's been as good at Maverick Hunting as you and Zero, and he can only do but so much." She sat on his lap, rubbing his back to try and relax him. X sunk deeper into the leather seat and groaned, both in frustration and in relaxation.

They both remained silent until an idea hit both of them, "THAT'S IT!" Both of them popped out of the seat and sifted through X's desk to try and find a pen.

"X, where are your pens? This desk is a war zone." Alia looked at him with a scolding look. X may have been the best Maverick Hunter, but he was still a slob when it came to being organized.

X laughed nervously, "Well you see… heh heh." X continued to look, slightly sweating under Alia's gaze.

-------

"I'm sorry that you had to delay so long, I just couldn't leave X alone with this." Zero apologized to the team of scientists standing before him.

"It's fine Zero, but are you sure about doing this?" The lead scientist asked one more time.

"Yes, the Zero Virus won't go away completely until I'm out of the picture, but I want to stick around in case X needs my help." Zero smiled slightly at the sad looking scientists.

"Alright, we've been downloading images into Exilion's cyber-brain for the time being, he should be as hostile as you are when he wakes… if he wakes up." The scientist caught his mistake.

"Let's hope not, I'll come by tomorrow for final refits so we can start, until then." Zero pivoted and walked out of the lab, two guards escorting him to the vehicle outside the underground facility.

----

"This plan… it's genius sir." The Secretary of Defense analyzed the plan X and Alia came up with, of course few knew Alia aided X with his decisions from time to time, "You plan on using copies of your data to produce Guardians to handle the stability of Neo Arcadia?"

X nodded, "That's the gist of it."

"I'll put this to work right away sir." The Secretary of Defense walked out; finally glad they had some sort of solution to this problem.

-- The Next Day –

X sighed and leaned back in his chair. Today felt out of place to the reploid legend. He had heard that Zero left the base early for some reason and didn't take any bodyguards with him, 'Not like he needs any.' X smirked when he remembered the look Zero gave the bodyguards assigned to him. It was simply a formality, but Zero saw it as the "higher-ups" thinking he was getting "old".

---

"Say that again." Zero eyed the doctor as he tried not to look at the copy of himself lying on the table motionless.

"We want to transfer your consciousness into this copy so we can dispose of your real body Zero." The professor said once again.

Zero seemed to contemplate how awkward this was. Normally, he'd just walk out, but this was different. If he didn't do this, the virus might not be completely dealt with, but if he did, he'd have to leave his real body, 'I kind of like my real self.'

"Your personality will not change Zero; you'll still be you, just not with your real body." The professor tried to console the Crimson Hunter.

"Fine, but don't mess anything up or I'll ram my Z-saber right up your…" Zero was cut off when a nearby assistant popped him over the head.

"Watch the language please sir." The man had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was snickering at Zero's glare, his chair leaned back.

'I wander what X is doing now?' Zero rubbed his head as the professor led him over to the other table.

---------------------------------

Weil continued to think inside the large confinement cell that floated above the planet's atmosphere, 'Zero, there was so much Wiley left in his lab when he was killed. It's amazing… that the God of Destruction has a brother just as destructive as him.' Weil chuckled, figuring that his last plan of this age was already set into motion.

Thus ended an age of death and destruction. As a generation of humans entered their late years and passed on, their heroes continued to protect them. Signas, the former commander of the Irregular Hunters, was promoted to General for his outstanding performance while in the hunter fold. X continued to lead the free world, Alia by his side. Unfortunately, shortly after the departure of a dear friend, both suddenly vanished without a trace. The Maverick Hunters continued their services under the title Guardians, the four reploids bearing X's copied data leading them. Then there was Zero. The crimson warrior slept through the end of the era, subconsciously confident that the threat posed by his presence was sealed along with him.

---------------------------------Three Hundred Years Later

A boy with chocolate brown hair continued to relax on the grassy hills of the park area. The sun was high and its golden beams heated the air. However, the boy had picked a spot under a large tree, the shade shielding him from the bright sphere of heat. It has been nearly a year since Albert was defeated and things seemed to calm down. Mavericks still popped up for raids here and there, but they easily disposed of by this young boy and his best friend. He didn't notice a shadow come over him, the source's eyes examining his form curiously.

Emerald eyes trailed his face, going up to his messy hair, suppressing a giggle upon remembering how it got that way. Due to much pestering, Vent cut his long hair, and it didn't help that it was in the middle of winter.

"O-h Vent," A feminine voice sang, "time to wake up sleepy head." The girl continued to watch as the boy slept, unaffected by her attempts to wake him, "Alright Vent, but I tried it the easy way." Swiftly, the girl left the boy, only to return with a bucket filled with water, 'It's classic, yet very effective.' She threw the contents onto the one named Vent, giggling uncontrollably when he popped up, his clothes drenched with ice-cold water.

"A-Aile, why'd you go and do that!?" Vent glared at the still laughing Aile, not too happy that his clothes were dripping wet.

"I came to tell you that we're supposed to go pick up Prairie from some lab she found, she said it was urgent." Aile got over her laughter to inform Vent of their next assignment. Both of them had taken a short vacation after the fall of the Ouroboros, dragging a resisting Prairie along with them.

"Alright, but it better be good this time." Vent tried to wring some of the water out of his shirt, the water spilling onto the grass below. With that, both of them walked to the nearest Transerver and teleported to the designated area. When they both exited into the forested area, they decided to remain in their human forms, the operator not telling them of any enemy activity.

"I wander what she found in this place." Vent thought out loud when they came upon a broken-down laboratory.

Aile simply shrugged, "Who knows, maybe she found out why our Biometals are acting funny." Recently, the Biometals had been acting up. Some would move randomly while the voices that usually guided them faded in and out, sometimes becoming undecipherable.

"Not quite," The leader of the Guardians came out to meet them, a strange case in her arms, "I just wanted to get this back to base safely, you two were my best bet seeing as you used to deliver things." She smiled at both Vent and Aile.

Vent felt a sting in his chest. Whenever he remembered his old job, he remembered Giro, 'I could've done something.' Vent was snapped from his thoughts when Aile slapped him on the back.

"You bet, we're the best at that kind of stuff. So what's so important about the box?" Aile examined the item, her eyes huge with curiosity.

Prairie giggled at her friend, "It holds information on something hidden in Area Zero."

"Oh sweet, that place is cool!" Vent remembered reading about the history of Area Zero. He had wanted to visit the old landmark for ages, but something always kept him away.

"What kind of thing Prairie?" Aile tilted her head to the side, thinking this probably wasn't worth her time.

The pink clad Prairie simply shrugged, "The old computer just flashed a stopped timer over and over again, so I figured it was important." She walked past both Chosen Ones, all three heading for the nearest Transerver, "I wander how Ashe and Gray are doing; we haven't heard anything from them."

A sly smirk slithered onto Aile's face, "Knowing those two, they probably tried to kill each other using Model A." She giggled when Vent nudged her, though he was trying to suppress a chuckle.

"Those two are something else, ah," Vent sighed, "love-hate relationships make my head hurt." He jumped when he felt someone's breath on his ear.

"Want me to make it all better Vent?" Aile asked, leaning centimeter's from Vent's ear. When she saw his obvious discomfort, she skipped away with a huge grin, "It's always so easy!" She yelped when she felt someone slap her rear, a streak of brown and white sprinting ahead, "You pervert!"

Prairie sighed as she continued walking, ignoring the two eighteen year-olds chasing each other, "Obvious and unrealized attractions can be equally trying." She smiled, admitting that she was amused by their antics.

--------

"Data recovery achieved, damages to main body repaired, good morning Exilion." A mechanical voice greeted the awakened reploid. His armor was snow white, contrasting the black sections of his body. On his belt was a long hilt, a buster-rifle on his back. Exilion opened his eyes to reveal them to be ice-blue.

"Why was I awakened late? According to the data, it's been two-centuries since Zero was awakened." Exilion's cold voice cut through the air as he looked around the broken down room he was in. At his feet was water that had filled the room to his shin, busted water-pipes littering the walls.

"An explosion from Zero's facility jolted the system; it needed time to recover your memories, battle data, and weapon configurations. Due to your high combat ability, it took time to recover the data." The automated voice responded.

Exilion seemed to be satisfied with this, "Activate the self-destruct countdown and deactivate, your job is done." Exilion started out of the room, his destination to another like himself. While the alarms went off, Exilion entered another holding room, the temperatures far below zero. He approached a pod and wiped the frost away from it, revealing a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. He turned to another pod and cleared the frost, seeing another girl with blonde hair. Exilion punched the lock open, the system shutting off. The pod opened with a hiss, allowing Exilion to pick up the girl and wrap her shivering body in a nearby winter-coat.

Exilion walked over to the first pod and punched in a number, a code that was downloaded into his mind. The reploid rubbed her eyes and took the winter-coat Exilion handed to her. She wrapped it around herself and started out with the white warrior, glad that there were no enemies around, 'X,' Alia said his name in her mind as she followed Exilion. She could feel it; X was alive in some shape. After awhile, Alia noticed the girl in Exilion's arms, "Exilion, who is that girl there?"

"I don't know, but this coat has the name Ciel on it, I think that's her name." Exilion closed his eyes, "Records indicate that someone found this place years back."

"It was probably her, is she a human?" Alia examined how angelic she looked.

"No, she's a reploid… but I can't be sure she was always that way." Exilion stopped in front of a large door and gently set Ciel down. He raised the deactivated beam-saber, a long blue blade forming when it hissed to life. With one swing, a wave of energy shot from the beam-saber, cutting the thick door in half. He picked Ciel back up when the door fell with a bang, allowing light to spill into the dark ruin.

"I hope the world hasn't changed too much, X would be upset if it plunged into another series of wars." Alia continued to follow Exilion, hoping that they wouldn't run into any Mavericks along the way to civilization.

**A/N: I hope you like it so far, five bucks to anyone who guesses who the villain will be… alright not really, but guess anyway. I changed a few things so it could be a bit more interesting, I hope you don't mind. Please review!**


	2. 01

**A/N: Let's see how the plot will thicken.**

**CH.01: Nightmare Begins**

Night fell over mobile HQ. The pink airship smoothly hovered over Innerpeace, the sensors keeping a close watch as the ones inside slept. In the various halls of the floating base, was the room of Vent and Aile. Both slept on opposite sides of the room, a bathroom separating it. However, Models X and Z rested on a single piece of furniture. It was a white dresser that both had access to, but it was solely meant to hold the two Biometals.

It was at times like these, when the Chosen Ones were sleeping, that the two Biometals would speak to one another. The subjects would vary, including, but not limited to, the potential of their users, the full extents of their abilities, and things of the sort. However, tonight, the discussion was one that troubled Model X greatly. The reploid he was based off of had a past concern, a question he always wanted to ask his crimson friend while he slept. Though it was unclear to even them whether or not they actually were part of their original selves, he always believed they were. Model X would often find himself feeling inner turmoil at the constant fighting that continued to rage after so long, "Model Z,"

"Yes X, what is the subject of tonight's discussion?" Model Z answered. He often referred to his counterpart as 'X', a past request from the blue Biometal. Though he did not request it, Model X would often refer to him as Z; and to be honest, it often annoyed him more than anything else.

"If you had the chance to become your original self, would you do it?" Model X asked. He knew that if Model Z could stare at him like he had two heads, he would be right now.

Model Z carefully considered the question, knowing that a half-baked answer would only push Model X to pry even further, "Assuming that I am a piece of the original, I'd say it depends on the situation. If it was the only choice that would limit the amount of casualties, then I would do it. However, if I had any other option that would have better positive affects on the casualty rate, then I'd refuse."

Model X considered this, finding that it satisfied that particular question, "Then… is it wrong to be hesitant to fight like our originals did. Something inside me is still saying that I'm tired of that kind of fight. Helping Vent and Aile is one thing, don't get me wrong, but I still feel hesitant to get a body and do it myself."

"X," Model Z started, "I feel the same to be honest, but I wouldn't consider it a 'sin' unless it became a cowardly hesitation, the shirking of responsibility." Silence followed his words, the two Biometals pondering what was spoken. Flashes of past memories flashed through their circuitry, images of dying friends and loved ones plaguing them.

Before either Biometals knew it, hours had gone by. Model X prepared to add his thoughts when a loud alarm went off, waking the Chosen Ones from sleep. Model X chuckled as the bumping of Vent scrambling to get dressed reached him. Model Z simply sighed as the male sprinted for the bathroom only to find that Aile had beaten him to it.

"Aw, come on Aile, you take forever in the bathroom!" Vent folded his arms and tapped his foot, ready to bang on the door. His eyes glanced from the door and Model X, 'One second too long and I'll blow the door down!'

_Vent, Aile, hurry up, this is a Class A emergency, we need you two on the bridge stat!_

As Prairie's announcement ended, Aile appeared from the bathroom, ignoring Vent's bolting in. She giggled when she caught his grumbling about his bladder being on the verge of bursting, "I warned you about that last extra-large soda Vent!" Aile yelled as she exited the room. She swiftly picked up Models X and Z, "Come on you two, let's see what the emergency's about." Aile sprinted down the hall and towards the bridge, her ears soon picking up the following steps of Vent.

**xxx**

Vent and Aile opened their eyes, the light of being teleported by the Transerver clearing from their vision. They were just outside of Area C, the metropolis awaiting their aid. In seconds, they had Biomerged to ZX form, dashing through the streets to see evidence of some sort of fighting, "This is giving me chills." Aile recalled the briefing Prairie gave them, not liking their situation.

_"We're picking up a strange signal from Area C, but it's not like anything we've detected before. The screen is displaying virus information, but nothing like when the Pseudoroids show up." Prairie pointed to the various charts and energy readings displayed on the operator's screens._

_Vent grunted, "We'll figure it out, hopefully it's just a freak energy spike or something not too major." Aile nodded, though she shivered from a bad vibe. Both Chosen Ones left with a wish of luck from Prairie. _

"Vent, be careful," Aile's eyes darted to her left, her buster held tightly, "something's watching us."

Vent took out the ZX Saber, the bright green light of the focused laser slightly lighting up the night surroundings. He started further down the street, glancing back every so often to check if Aile was following. No less than five minutes into the main-square, the pair found something disturbing. At the center of a four-way intersection, a group of children were blankly staring into the sky. Aile cautiously approached them while Vent looked up, trying to see what the children were looking at, 'Something… isn't right.'

"Vent, come help me!" Aile yelled to him as she carried two children away from the others, their gaze still fixated on the sky. Vent nodded and approached the last two children. However, a sharp pain in his neck forced him to his knees, just in time for three blasts of plasma to shoot over his head. Aile dropped the children and spun around, her buster pointed towards the source of the shots, "Vent, get out of there!"

Said Chosen One obliged all to quickly, snatching up the children and making a break for it. However, after only one step, a large explosion rocked the intersection, blowing him and the two children further down the street. Vent groaned, thanking the ZX armor for absorbing some of the blow. He felt for the children he had snatched up and looked at them, biting back a curse. He was certain both were alive, but they were bleeding from various scratches from shrapnel. However, they were still looking towards the sky, "Hey, get out of here, go!" Vent shook them, but it was useless.

Aile soon appeared next to him, her eyes focused on the smoke and flames that shrouded the other end of the street, "Vent, are you guys alright?" Vent opened his mouth to reply, but it soon clicked shut when the two children stood up, only to fall to their knees and clasp their hands together in a praying position. Their eyes were still focused on the empty sky.

"What is wrong with them?" Vent practically growled. He looked into the child's eyes, but he saw nothing in them, they were lifeless. Vent and Aile were further perplexed when various doors to houses, shops, and apartments opened as one, the desperate shouts of civilians echoing through the night. Vent and Aile watched as hundreds of seemingly hypnotized humans piled into the flaming intersection. They all dropped to their knees in the same praying position, ignoring the desperate attempts by their family and friends to get them to move.

"Vent, Aile, can you hear me?" Prairie's voice came over the communicator, sounding just as disturbed and confused as they were feeling, "That weird reading is growing stronger, whatever the source is, it's heading straight for you!"

Vent and Aile nodded at each other, wishing they had Model HX to help analyze whatever was coming their way. Soon, a silhouette could be seen through the still thick oil-fires and smoke that still burned in the streets. The sirens of fire-fighters echoed through the streets as fire-trucks approached, their blinking lights visible in the distance. Vent signaled to Aile, they had about five minutes to get this over with. The silhouette soon became more visible, taking a familiar shape, a shape that got a gasp of disbelief from Prairie.

"I-It can't be." Her voice said over the communicator.

"What, Prairie what is it!?" Vent was not to get an answer, a charged buster shot hitting him square in the chest. Aile yelped at the shear speed and accuracy of the attack. She caught an airborne Vent, "Vent, you should stay, back, you've taken too much damage!"

Vent growled, but reluctantly agreed, "Fine, but if it comes to melee, let me do it, you're a better shot than I am." They exchanged smirks before dodging another wave of buster shots, the silhouette getting closer and clearer. Aile gracefully kicked off the side of a nearby building, dodging an approaching shot. She glanced at Vent to see him duck under one and rolled away from another. Her emerald eyes refocused on the shadow, noticing that it stopped its advance. Both Chosen Ones saw a familiar stance, the shadow driving its fist into the ground.

"MOVE IT VENT!" Aile jumped to the side, dodging a large blast of energy from the ground. She soon rolled to her left and then right to avoid two more. She took one more jump, holding in a yelp when she felt Vent's back against hers, "Who is that?" No answer, "Vent?" She turned to see him gawking at something, "What's with the face?" She followed his gaze and gasped, another intake of surprise coming over the communicator.

Before them stood a reploid with long, glowing purple hair, his body resembling an all too familiar reploid to one Prairie, "Z-Zero, is that you!?" Prairie stared at the display in utter disbelief. However, she noticed obvious differences between the crimson hunter and this being. Where Zero's armor was traditionally crimson, this reploid's was purple. His eyes were green and his hair lavender instead of blonde, 'No, it can't be Zero.' Prairie bit her lip, her chest tightening on pure instinct.

'Zero' cackled at the surprised looks on Vent and Aile's faces, raising his buster, "You cannot stop this nightmare!" A barrage of charged shots roared towards the two stunned Megamen… er… Megaman and Megawoman. Vent kicked Aile to the side, sliding in the opposite direction to barely dodge the attack. However, this Nightmare Zero suddenly disappeared and reappeared beside Vent, saber ready to drive into his head. Vent quickly drew the ZX-saber and tried to block, but it barely held up against Nightmare Zero's version of the Z-saber.

Aile finally regained her balance and looked towards the crowd of civilians, expecting screams of terror and chaos. However, every last human was in the praying position, the very same blank expressions on their faces. Aile's gaze shifted from Nightmare Zero, to the hypnotized people, 'It's him; somehow this guy is causing all this!' Aile growled and shot for Nightmare Zero, drawing her ZX-saber. However, the brightly colored fiend blocked Aile with a second Z-saber copy, its grey glow seeming too menacing to be real.

"A-TRANCE!" Two yells echoed through the night, two flashes of green diving for Nightmare Zero. The skilled reploid simply cackled and weaved through four strikes of purple-colored sabers. Two, identical, green Megamen stood between Nightmare Zero and his prey, backing him up towards the strangely positioned citizens of Innerpeace. The two Megamen were suddenly enveloped in a bright light before reverting back to their true forms, a boy and a girl with white/gray hair. They both wore the suits belonging to ones using Model A, the one with the ability to copy defeated opponents.

"What, you two can't handle a single enemy? You guys must be slipping." The girl grinned at a glaring Vent. She mouthed an 'ow' when her partner elbowed her, his golden eyes silently reprimanding her.

"In case you haven't noticed, he's still here!" The boy pointed one of his two pistols at Nightmare Zero.

However, while the girl glared right back at the serious boy, Nightmare Zero chuckled, "Hah, four children, foolishly thinking they can contest with the gods of this world." He spread his arms, his body slowly floating off the ground, "I am tired of these games you foolish children, but you do amuse me." He looked to see four pairs of eyes glaring daggers at him, "The signatures of the mighty X, the unstoppable Zero, and the essence of the master of imitation, Axl, rests within all of you!" His long hair rose and snapped towards the ground, breaking through the pavement and planting themselves in the ground, "Let's see if you can stop me." Suddenly, he disappeared again.

Vent and the others looked around, thinking he'll try to appear near them. However, a message from Prairie ended their tense suspicions.

"Guys, he's gone, please return to base… we need to talk abou… hold on… I need you four to head to Area A, now!" Prairie's voice turned frantic as she stared a brand new signal, this one stronger than any she ever saw before. She bit her lip again, noticing how it was similar to the signal Model O gave off when Vent uncovered it.

"Grey, Ashe, you heard her." Vent and Aile started for Area A, hesitantly leaving the civilians as they were. However, the one named Ashe gave them a slightly expected reply.

"I don't know," She sang, "I don't remember you guys offering any bounty on this particular mission." She received another elbow from Grey, "Would you cut that out!?"

Grey glared at her, "I'll quit when you get your head out of your pocket, now come on!" He grabbed her by the collar and dragged her off, Ashe kicking and screaming about some sort of bounty.

**xxx**

"The signal is coming from deeper within the area, but… it's another strange one. I haven't seen a signal like this since sis woke up Zero long ago." Prairie stared at the screen, the operators behind her typing away to try and find out what was giving off the signal.

Aile turned to Vent, "I think we should split up, I'll take Ashe and you take Grey." She didn't even wait for a reply before both girls were of, Ashe sticking her tongue out at Grey. Unseen by Vent, Grey flipped her the bird before she was out of sight.

The bearer of Model A sighed and turned to Vent, "Let's go, I have a feeling this isn't going to be a normal trip." He took out one pistol and spun it, starting off ahead of Vent. The older male simply sighed, before following. After an hour of walking, and a few swarms of random enemies, they came to the smoking remains of some sort of facility.

Vent stared at the ruins, "This place was destroyed just recently, and it seems it had some sort of cloaking device at one point." He kicked the shattered remains of said device, or at least the remains of one, "What do you guys think?" He asked Models X and Z.

Model X was the first to respond, "I think we should check around the area, maybe something around can clue us in as to what was in here."

Model Z simply grunted, "Hm, be careful though, I'm sensing something strange."

Grey nodded, but not before Model A threw in his two-cents, "If you ask me, I say we get out of here, this place is giving me the shivers." Grey would've glared at the Biometal if it were floating in front of him. It was on the subject of his Biometal that Grey remembered the words of Nightmare Zero.

'What did he mean by 'Axl', I thought Model A was modeled after Master Albert.' Grey decided now wasn't the time to ponder on this, but instead to try and locate the source of the strange signal, "Hopefully the girls found something more helpful."

**xxx**

Aile and Ashe, unfortunately, were having less luck than the boys. They had been walking for at least half an hour, and they saw nothing but plants, plants, mechaniloid, and more plants. Ashe groaned and folded her arms in frustration, glaring at yet another plant, "Surely this thing can't be this _hard_ to freakin' find!"

Aile, though she hated to admit it, was also feeling a bit frustrated. In the past, finding any sign of energy sources was easy, but this was absolutely ridiculously hard. She took a glance around and decided to ask Models X and Z. Luckily for her, Vent and Aile had figured out how to split the models in half when they Megamerged with them, each taking half their power, "You two have any ideas?"

"Well, no actually, we're as stuck as you girls are." Model Z answered. He sounded perfectly calm, a trait Aile sometimes found annoying.

Model X, however, was staring off into nothing, "I am sensing something, but… it's faint." He paused, "Follow me, I think I have something." Aile and Ashe did just that, following Model X's lead deeper into Area A.

"Exilion, behind you!" Aile and Ashe stopped when a voice screamed out from their left. In seconds, two serpent mechaniloids leaped out of the thick trees, a white reploid their current target. Aile and Ashe watched, stunned, as the reploid skillfully ducked under the two serpent's fangs, dodging it like nothing. He placed one hand on his saber and drew it, a large wave of energy shooting out to cut one of the two attackers in half.

"Alia, get Ciel out of here, I'll be fine."

"A-Alia!?" Model X shouted in surprise.

"C-Ciel… Sis!?" Prairie leaned in towards the screen, waiting to see if what she heard was true. In seconds, she saw two heads of blonde break from the trees. Her eyes widened as she stared at the one blonde being carried by the other, her face just visible. An ecstatic smile came over her face, 'I-It is, it's Sis!' Prairie immediately contacted everyone, "Aile, Ashe, make sure those two get away safely, Vent Grey, hurry over and help the white reploid fight!"

Aile and Ashe immediately sprinted for the escaping blondes, still not quite following what was going on. However, when Aile got near the one named Alia, the white reploid intercepted her, saber drawn. Aile froze when she looked into his cold eyes, any form of emotion was absent from the orbs of blue.

"Stop!" Model X came between Exilion and Aile, "Calm down, we're all on the same side."

Alia froze when she heard Model X, "It can't be… X, is that you?" She gently set Ciel down and approached the floating Biometal. She gently took it into her hands and examined Model X, "It is, isn't it."

Model X was silent for a few moments before responding, almost sounding ashamed when he did, "Yeah, at least a piece of him. It's… it's nice to see you alive Alia."

Alia simply shook her head, a weak smile on her face, "Oh X, it seems you're still too careless." She looked up to see an absolutely dumbfounded Aile and Ashe staring at them. Alia immediately released Model X, "Uh, I bet this looks… uh really awkward." She laughed nervously, and the blank look Exilion was giving her wasn't helping.

"HSSS!" Everyone turned around to see the large serpent mechaniloid looming overhead, fangs bared.

Everyone looked at Exilion, "Oh yeah, I guess I forgot." Exilion shrugged and took out a Buster Rifle. However, before he could fire, a flash of crimson descended and divided the mechaniloid in two.

Vent stood up as the mechaniloid fell into a heap of scrap, grinning at the staring crowd, "Sorry we're late, we kind of got a bit lost, heh." Aile slapped her forehead and shook her head.

"You can be such an idiot sometimes."

Ashe looked around, "Where's Grey?" Her wide eyes soon became half-lidded, a smirk of mirth coming onto her face. She was currently looking at a mud-covered Grey, his eyes burning holes into the surroundings with a stronger-than-usual glare, "Aw, don't you look cute."

Grey directed his hell-glare towards Ashe, "I. hope. you. burn. in. Hell."

**A/N: Well, Ashe and Grey enter the stage as well as Nightmare Zero. However, what was with the humans in Innerpeace? For those who don't know, Nightmare Zero is from Megaman x6, he was a corrupt and inefficient clone of Zero. He has a use, but he's not the main villain. Please read and review!**


	3. 02

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. I'd also like to thank Buttercup Rogue Shadow for informing me of a possible snag in my storyline. It will be addressed as I present my own speculation about how the X, Zero, and ZX series all tie together, since they all do. At least according to Capcom they do. Anyway, I'll be delving into the more technical side of this story, so please bear with me.**

**CH.02: Plan Revealed**

_The world has changed since the days of old. Two-hundred years of moderate peace has allowed humans to rebuild civilization, and move on with life. Though war still plagued the hearts of many, none surpassed the Elf Wars that nearly wiped out all that lived. Recently, the economic stance of Innerpeace has become an issue. Through the defeat of Slither Inc, the economy took a hit. However, Biotech, the sister company, took over, buying out Slither Inc just in time to keep the world markets afloat. However, many look to their owner, Seth Arc, making sure he showed no signs of inanity that mirrored Serpent's._

_Rumors about Seth, however, only increased suspicion. According to said rumors, all investigations about undocumented areas of the company's labs are securely shut, documents giving them immunity to required government inspection. What secrets lie within Biotech?_

**xxxxxxxxx**

Prairie stared at the bed that held her Sis, Ciel, with a mixture of expressions. She was obviously overjoyed to see her alive and well, but a piece of her was deeply troubled. How did Ciel keep her young features after such length of time, and why was she in the facility with Exilion and Alia, 'Speaking of those two, why were they even _there_?' Prairie looked away from Ciel and directed her attention to an unconscious Exilion. The white reploid had shutdown soon after arrival, saying something about reviewing past data.

"Ma'am, we have the status report of Ciel." One of the new medics approached her, chart in his hands. His features weren't anything extraordinary, but his eye held gentleness and drive. Prairie gratefully took the chart and went over it.

"So there's nothing wrong with her other than recovering from being asleep all that time?" Prairie glanced up from the chart to see the medic nod, "Alright," She handed him back the chart, "keep watch over her. Did you finish examining Exilion and Alia?" She glanced back to Exilion, watching as some tech crew-members unhooked a few wires, only to plug in a few more.

The medic adjusted the glasses he was wearing, "Well, we managed to get a signature from the one named Exilion, but it wasn't anything we recognized. As for the one named Alia, we managed to get a few snippets of information." He flipped the paper on the chart and showed her.

Prairie examined the contents of the chart, her eyes widening at parts, and a small gasp from others. She looked off into space, thinking through the situation. Her nose was sniffing something, but she couldn't place her finger on it, "Give this to the operators, have them search the Guardian database for anything and report back if they find something."

"Aye ma'am," He gave her a crisp salute and went off to deliver the information. Prairie sighed and pulled up a chair beside Ciel, staring at her with that mixture of joy and uncomfortable puzzlement.

**xxx**

Alia glanced between the idol Models X and Z. With every passing look, her eyes seemed to sadden more and more, "I just… can't believe it."

Model Z was the first to respond, "What, never expected to see us like this?"

Alia solemnly shook her head, "No, I mean, you two were the best, the strongest Maverick Hunters to ever take up arms." Her head slightly dropped, "You even defeated Sigma, enemy to all humans. To see you two reverted to this… it's a bit disheartening." Silence followed her words. She stole a glance at Model X, sensing a frown, "X… is… something wrong?"

Model X remained silent for a few seconds, "Nothing… I'm fine Alia."

Alia had nothing to say, 'You're a horrible liar, even if you aren't your original self.'

"I don't get it." Aile hopped down from the crate she was sitting on, "I thought the Biometals were made from shards of Model W."

Vent decided to jump in, "They are, but I think that bits of data from their original selves got into the mix somehow. Perhaps Ciel originally used past data about the ones the Biometals are based off of." Everyone stared at the chocolate-haired Chosen One in slight astonishment.

Aile whistled, "I guess you do have your moments Vent; that sounded pretty smart." She giggled when Vent rolled his eyes.

"Funny," Vent held in a growl when everyone chuckled at him.

Model X, however, was not laughing. It was strange for the little Biometal, but he was feeling something within him that he assumed shouldn't be there. He was feeling a mixture of shame and regret. He was ashamed of his current state, and that the reason he is so helpless is partially his own fault. Because of his hesitation to enter the fray so long ago, his body was destroyed. Unfortunately, this led the world down a spiraling path of more destruction, 'I've decided, I must find a way to make this right. Vent, Aile, please continue to allow me to fulfill my creator's wish through you two.' Model X was snapped from his thoughts when he noticed everyone staring at him.

"Model X, are you alright? It's normal for Model Z to be a stick in the mud, but you're usually a bit more high-spirited." Aile knelt down to look at the living device closely.

"It's nothing, just thinking about what's going on, that's all." Model X began to float in the air. He slowly approached Aile and skillfully attached himself to one of the belt-loops of her shorts. She was about to say something to her little friend when the intercom came to life, Prairie's voice beckoning them.

"Vent, Aile, please report to the bridge, don't forget Alia and the Biometals, I'd like them present as well." The intercom shut off, a chiming ending the message. Everyone exchanged glances, did so before starting for the bridge, each feeling something different.

**xxx**

Prairie sighed as everyone she summoned watched her closely. Her blue eyes scanned their features, determining whether now was the time to say what she was about to, "The good news is that everything's calmed down a bit since the appearance of that strange Zero."

Alia's eyebrow rose upon hearing this, "Strange Zero? What do you mean?"

Prairie could've hit herself for forgetting, "Sorry, I forgot you don't know. We encountered a strangely colored version of Zero while inspecting an energy spike in Area C. He displayed abilities similar to him also." Prairie stopped when she saw the horrified expression on Alia's face, "Something wrong?"

Alia's expression became blank, her memory of a certain incident hundreds of years ago playing back to her, "He's Nightmare Zero, a cheap copy made by a former colleague of mine. However, if he's roaming around, then that means someone is trying to repeat the events of the Eurasia Incident and the events that followed." Alia looked down in thought, "But why do that; that plan failed the last time, and we stopped the plots afterwards."

Prairie looked towards the operators, "Look up this Eurasia Incident, maybe it'll give us clues about what's going on." Prairie faced Alia again, "Anything else you might know?"

Alia shook her head, "No, that's as much as I can do without access to a computer."

Prairie nodded, "Alright, I suggest you accompany us on our next destination then." The blonde reploid saw two heads cock to the side in confusion, "We're heading for Biotech HQ, Ashe and Grey have gone on ahead. We found a signature on Exilion that greatly resembles the ones placed on their equipment; maybe Mr. Arc has some answers for us."

Vent and Aile nodded, "Alright, we'll get him to talk, don't worry." A slightly devilish look came over Aile, but Vent lightly smacked her over the head.

"There's no need to be hasty." He yelped when Aile returned his light smack with on with a bit more force behind it, "Ow, what was that for!?"

Aile lightly glared at him, "Don't talk to me like _I'm_ the hasty one, you're the guy that keeps rushing into rooms, blindly swinging your sword around." Prairie, Alia and the two Biometals sighed as Vent and Aile exited the bridge, arguing all the way.

Alia allowed a small smile, "Those two remind me of X and Zero, they used to always fight like that when they went off on assignments." She too started out, "I always found it amazing that those two would always argue their way through an assignment and return with a perfect achievement."

"Good luck, try not to get into trouble." Prairie sighed when the door closed, 'Now I know why Sis was always stressed, this is a hard job.' She faced the screen just as the face a man in his mid-twenties appeared, "This is Prairie, leader of the Guardians, I'd like to speak with Seth Arcs."

The man peered through his orange-colored sunglasses and ran a gloved hand through his light-blonde hair, "You're speaking to him, a pleasure to meet you Prairie, I've heard much." A slight chuckle left his lips when he saw Prairie's surprised expression, "Expected someone older didn't you."

Prairie faltered, "Y-Yes actually," She cleared her throat, "I'm calling you to inform you of…" Prairie was cut off by the very serious expression on Seth's face, his words displaying his concern.

"Yes, I already know, we've been waiting for this day for a very, very long time Miss Prairie. Before you send the Chosen Ones and Alia, please awaken Exilion. I'd also like you and Ciel to accompany them." Seth observed Prairie's dumbfounded expression again, "Like I said Miss Prairie, we've been expecting this day for a very long time now. Please hurry, time will make all the difference." The connection was cut, leaving Prairie to recover from this unexpected development.

"Are you going to stand there with your mouth open all day, or are you going to come along?" Prairie whipped around for the second, heart-stopping, surprise of the day. Standing before her was Ciel. She looked very tired and a bit pale, but Ciel was still smiling just as brightly as her memory stated. Prairie bolted for Ciel, the older woman hugging her close, "Come on Alouette, we have a lot to do." Ciel slowly stepped away, allowing both of them to head towards the hallway.

Prairie, however, was still reeling from the rapid events, "Sis, this all happening so fast." She looked to see a far off, but understanding expression on Ciel's face. Prairie's eyes slightly narrowed upon seeing, recognizing the look, "You know something, don't you Sis."

Ciel's expression was a bit solemn, but she nodded firmly, "Yes, and I'm afraid you won't get any emotional rest for awhile Prairie." The two blondes continued towards the elevator, their destination the infirmary. The journey to the elevator was silent, one relishing the feel of being up and about again, while the other tried to think of what to say.

"Sis," Prairie started as they stepped off the elevator, "how are you… you know… like this?" She examined her body curiously. The last time she saw Ciel, she was much older. However, now she looked like she did only a few years after Zero's death. Her body had grown to maturity, loosing the frail frame and replaced with that of a woman. It often amazed her how Ciel was so mature for only being teenager, but she could obviously see the effects of being in a constant state of stress, 'But now… you look young again.'

Ciel smiled again, "I have a reploid body now; I turned myself into a cyber-elf and entered this body, which was made for me." Ciel saw the surprised look on Prairie's face, "Certainly you didn't think Serpent discovered how to do it on his own did you?" Ciel opened the door to the infirmary and entered, walking straight to the unconscious Exilion.

Prairie followed soon after, giving herself a few seconds to let some of this sink in. She followed Ciel's gaze o Exilion, getting the first full look at the mysterious reploid, "I wander why Seth wants us to bring him." She shrugged and went to shake him, but was met with a surprise. Exilion was staring straight at her, wide awake and looking as if ready to kill. The hostile gleam in his eyes slowly faded as he recognized Prairie and Ciel.

Exilion turned his eyes away from Prairie and looked at the ceiling, knowing his gaze made her uncomfortable, "Am I needed?" It was a simple, stoic question.

Ciel nodded, "Yeah, it's time we learned what's going on Exilion. We're going to need you." She leaned down and helped him up. In seconds, Exilion was up and putting on his weapons, arming himself to the teeth. Prairie counted two busters, one normal saber, his custom saber, and a spear. Silently, Exilion made his way to the door, the two women following with equal silence. Needless to say, the presence of this emotionless reploid made the air cold and uncomfortable.

xxx

"Nice going Vent."

"I didn't even do anything; it was you who kicked the darned thing."

"Please, both of you stop fighting and focus on inputting the coordinates again."

"Model X is correct; your bickering isn't going to solve anything."

Ciel and Prairie sighed upon hearing the commotion inside the room. However, the scene that met them upon opening the door was equally embarrassing, but twice as funny. Aile and Vent was both climbing over one another, trying to type of the keyboard to input the coordinates, but one would mess up the other. It was an endless cycle that the two overseeing Biometals couldn't stop. Ciel chuckled before clapping her hands together loudly, putting an end to the squabbling.

As the room went silent, a nonchalant Alia walked in, a hot cup of coffee in hand. Ciel and Prairie stared at her in disbelief, "What," She shrugged, "I know better than to try and stop people like them." She raised her cup and took another sip, "Thought I might as well use the time to get something to drink."

"Clever," Model Z stated.

"You always did know how to exploit a situation Alia." Model X chuckled himself before facing the Chosen Ones, "Now that you two are finally calm, maybe we can actually get somewhere."

Prairie sighed, "I can go get the coordinates again." She turned to leave, but Ciel stopped her, giving her a confident wink.

Ciel walked over to the keyboard, humming a tune. She skillfully typed in the numbers, her fingers flying over the keys. Vent and Aile looked on in awe as the Transerver came to life, recognizing the code, "Zero always said my photographic memory will come in handy." She glanced at Model Z.

"Sorry, don't remember saying that." The red and black Biometal levitated to Vent, allowing the boy to take him in his grasp. Model X did the same, floating over to Aile for the same reasons.

Alia shook her head, smirking at her new and old friends. However, remembering the silent reploid at the door, Alia faced Exilion, "You ready to go?"

Exilion, throughout the entire scene remained stoic, "Yes, but I suggest we leave any encountered enemies to me, the two children should conserve their strength for surprise encounters." Exilion joined everyone in the Transerver, Vent and Aile shooting down his calling them "children".

**xxxx**

"Mr. Seth, our sensors have detected two intruders in the building sir." Seth Arc opened his eyes, peering through his orange sunglasses and at the secretary. She stood perfectly straight in front of him, her eyes hard and piercing. She was wearing a black uniform that consisted of a jacket, a white tie, and black skirt. Two white gloves covered her thin hands, blending in with the lightly colored walls of Seth's office.

Seth folded his arms and leaned back in his leather chair, "Anything strange about them?"

The secretary nodded, "We've picked up the energy of Biometal sir; it seems the intruders are Chosen Ones."

Seth grunted, "Allow them to come here, if it turns ugly, don't hold back Marian."

Marian bowed slightly before flipping one of her two braids of black hair, "Understood sir. What shall I do to prepare for the Guardian's arrival?"

Seth's eyes flashed, "Tell the scientists down below to ready the system; we'll need to move swiftly." He suddenly looked towards the door when a beep came from his desk, indicating unauthorized personnel approaching his office. Marian faced the door and waited her form still crisp and professional.

**xxx**

"I can blow it down."

"You're not blowing it down."

"I want to blow it down."

"You are not blowing it down." Ashe snatched Grey's pistol and shot him a scolding look. Grey mumbled and folded his arms, tapping his trigger finger on his arm, "We haven't seen anything hostile, so maybe this place isn't the source of the problem."

Grey rolled his eyes before snatching back his pistols, "I was kidding, geez." He calmly approached the door, his eyes focused on the red light. When it turned green, Ashe stepped up beside him, her hand rested on the handle of her holstered pistols. The door slid open, revealing the brightly lit office of Seth Arcs. The office wasn't anything too luxurious, but the wall of windows allowing the sunlight to spill in did make the room look larger.

"Ah, I figured it would be the Chosen Ones for Model A." Ashe and Grey looked towards the secretary, only to see her step aside to reveal Seth, "Pleasure to meet you two."

Ashe smirked, "I'm sure. We're here to inspect this place, if you don't mind."

Seth chuckled, "Not at all, but have a seat, we need to wait for the other guests from the Guardians to arrive." He motioned to the row of seats that were placed along the wall beside the door. Ashe exchanged looks with Grey before taking a seat, their eyes focused on the idol secretary and Seth.

"Feel free to change to your normal forms, there's nothing here meant to harm any of you." Marian bowed to them and took a seat beside Seth, her piercing eyes closed calmly.

Grey leaned over to Ashe, "You go ahead and change back; I'll stay ready for anything."

Ashe gave him a look, "Why do you get to stay in Biomerged, I'm just as good as you are."

Grey shook his head, "I'm a reploid Ashe; this is more comfortable for me than it is for you." Grey smirked, "I'm being nice, don't take it for granted."

Ashe shrugged, "Fine, but you better cover me if anything happens." She changed back into her human form, a flash of light filling the room. Ashe and Grey looked over to see Seth staring at them curiously.

"I see," He stroked his smooth chin, "so that's how humans use Biometal. I've only heard about the process, but actually seeing it is quite interesting." He leaned back in his chair, "Marian, have our guests arrived?"

Marian was silent before answering, "Yes, the main desk just notified me sir."

Seth stood up and stretched, "Very good, we can finally begin this centuries long game of chess." He looked back at Ashe and Grey, a smirk on his face, "I'm going to warn you two now, as Hunters, I'll give you the chance to walk away from this."

Grey's eyebrow rose, "Without telling us what you're up to; a bit suspicious don't you think?"

Marian responded before Seth could, "It is necessary that those not prepared for the truth have no knowledge of it. It is the only way for us to ensure that the scenario is at its peak of perfection."

"Huh," Ashe and Grey had looks of confusion on their faces.

Ashe was the first to snap out of her confusion to give a definite answer, "I don't know about my hormonally imbalanced partner here, but I'm sticking to this job till the end."

Grey openly glared at her, "Who are you calling 'hormonally unbalanced'; and who said I was your partner." He folded his arms and looked away, "I personally don't want to be lumped in with you and your antics." He growled when Ashe leaned on him, arm draped over his shoulder.

Ashe grinned widely, "Aw come on Grey, you know you like being my partner, just admit it."

"Get off me… right… now!" Grey tried to yank free, but Ashe held him in place for just long enough to snap a picture, "Where the heck did you get that camera!?"

Ashe shrugged, "I saw it in the store and had to have it."

Marian shot Seth a highly disapproving look, but the calm business man patted her on the head playfully, "Don't worry Marian; they'll be able to pull it off." He smiled, "I know they can." His eyes went to the door when it slid open, revealing six people. The three blondes walked in calmly and professionally, but the two brunettes were looking around curiously, taking in the sight. The sixth figure, however, stared straight at Seth, his blue eyes piercing through his sunglasses and into his very soul seemingly.

"Mr. Arc, I'm sure you already know why we're here." Ciel said. Her face showed that she knew more than the other guests, and the importance of their use of time.

Seth nodded, "Marian, please lead the way to the elevator, we're going to Lab 51X." He faced his guests, "Welcome, Chosen Ones, the Biometals, and the ones who will lead them," Everyone had a look of surprise, "we've been waiting for this day for generations."

Model A was the one to respond to that, "What do you mean?"

Seth motioned for everyone to follow, leading them through a spot in the wall. He simply passed through, his words echoing as he went, "This is a hologram, a door is hidden in the wall here." The group followed gasping when they found themselves in an elevator, Marian already waiting for them. Seth nodded at her, silently ordering the secretary to turn the red key in her hand. As the elevator made its way downwards, Seth continued, "Ever since the days of my great-great-grandfather, we've been preparing. He took this burden from a friend who was related to the man who sealed Zero away."

Ciel's eyes widened a bit, "You mean the scientist who separated Zero from his real body?"

Seth nodded, "He was also on the team who made Zero's copied body, and the one entrusted with a troubling secret." Seth paused, "When reviewing Zero's data, they came across a strange code. It took one-hundred years to crack even a little of it, but it was enough to force them to prepare as best they could."

"Did it have anything to do with Nightmare Zero?" Prairie asked.

Seth solemnly nodded, "It seems the data held a title, Dark Messiah, but we didn't know for sure what it is. However, the appearance of Nightmare Zero means that the coming events are already well in motion."

"What can we do, there's got to be something." Vent balled his fist, 'Those people were hypnotized. Who would do something like this?'

Seth sighed, "Yes, but we'll need all the Biometals to complete the plan. We can, however, go into Phase 1. It involves utilizing the Chosen Ones, Exilion and our own forces."

Exilion addressed the unasked question about himself, "I was created to destroy Zero if he were to awaken and follow the path of Omega. However, Nightmare Zero also falls into that category. Leave him to me."

Seth nodded, "Yes, but we're going to need some more help." He looked to Vent and Aile, "That's where you two come in."

Vent and Aile looked at each other in confusion. Ciel caught the look and clarified, "I know of this part of the plan. Like what I did with myself, I'm going to retrieve the Cyber Elves from the Biometals and put them inside the bodies built by Biotech."

Aile felt her stomach drop, "Won't that mean that we won't be able to Biomerge?"

Ciel shook her head, "No, you two use the part of the Biometals that hold battle data, but I'm going to use the other part, which holds their memories. I used their Cyber Elves, made from their remains, to construct their personalities and memories. If the Cyber Elves can enter their new bodies and revive X, Zero and the Four Generals of Neo Arcadia."

Alia glanced at Ashe and Grey, "Will you be able to do the same with Model A?"

Seth shook his had solemnly, "Not with just the Biometal, Albert didn't so much use Axle's Cyber Elf, rather he used data on Axel to create Model A. It's still possible, but I'll need more than Model A to revive him."

Model X and Z were speechless, but Alia wasn't, "This whole process seems rather dangerous and time consuming. Who will make sure everything's safe while we collect the Biometals?"

Seth nodded, "Good point, unfortunately, the Biometals are still in the grasp of the Megamen appointed by Albert."

"We'll use our men to hunt them down sir; it won't take long at all." Marian glance at Seth before returning to staring at the display that showed what floor they were on.

Seth nodded again, "Correct, we'll use our men to hunt them down, nice idea Marian." He grinned, missing the blush that came over Marian's face.

Ciel was skeptical, "I know Exilion is skilled, but he'll be busy with Nightmare Zero. I hardly believe he's strong enough to take down the other Chosen Ones." The elevator stopped, a ding indicating that the door will open. Seth continued to grin as the door slid open, revealing three capsules.

"He's not the only one we've prepared Miss Ciel." He snapped his fingers, the three capsules lifting off the ground and loaded into three separate devices by crane, "We've made plenty of preparations, please use anything here to your advantage."

Alia's eyes lit up when she spotted a super-computer, "It's so beautiful." Her star filled eyes soon formed into a glare when the laughter of two Biometals reached her ears. She turned to the two living devices, "Go ahead and laugh you two, I'll get you back." She growled.

Seth chuckled, "We better get started on reviving you two. May I?" He extended his hands towards Vent and Aile. Both Chosen Ones handed the Biometals over, "I'll need your assistance Ciel, if you don't mind of course."

"I'll help Alia search through the databases." Prairie followed Alia, leaving the Chosen Ones alone with Exilion. Grey grunted and changed back to normal.

"Now what?" Ashe sighed.

"Feel free to relax in the lounge area, Models C, S, and D will handle everything concerning the stolen Biometals." Marian led them into a well furnished room with four flat-screen TVs, a high-end sound-system, pool-table, and large C-shaped couch. Hooked up to the flat-screens were the latest game systems, a case of videogames resting under them.

Vent, Aile and Ashe drooled at the sheer beauty of the lounge, leaving Grey to sigh at their reactions. Marian bowed and left them, ignoring the tornado of noise that luckily ended when the sound-proof door closed. Calmly, she approached Exilion, "We recently detected Nightmare Zero in the desert area, you are to go and investigate it."

Exilion nodded and went to the nearest Transerver, "Understood, do I need to await a kill-order?"

Marian shook her head, "None is needed, if you are able to destroy Nightmare Zero, do so." Exilion nodded just as he was enveloped in light. In seconds, he was gone. Silence filled the underground lab, only the clicking of keyboard keys and the humming of machinery echoing through the lab. Marian looked towards Ciel and Seth, seeing them fully concentrated on reviving Zero and X. Her gaze then turned to Alia and Prairie, they too were focused on their chosen task. The calm Marian silently wished them all luck, turning to go back to the elevator, 'If only we would make a reploid who could destroy paperwork.' A small smile played on her lips as the door slid closed, the elevator ascending to the upper levels.

**A/N: So much freakin' happened. Anyway, the next few chapters will focus on the hunting of the stolen Biometals, and the meeting of past acquaintances. Try to guess who the other reploids are, they're from the X series and their names start with their model letters. Please read and review!**


	4. 03

**A/N: Wow, reviews are pretty positive for this fic, thanks guys. Anyway, concerning guesses, you get one of your answers this chapter. Thank all of you again for reviewing, and keep them coming.**

**Disclaimer: The Megaman (Rockman) series is not mine, only the OCs are mine.**

**03: Lightning Shadow**

_Approaching target area, prepare for drop._

A lone reploid snapped his eyes open upon hearing the AI's voice, his eyes gray and cold. He straightened the already perfectly crisp collar of his long white coat, running a hand over the bits of armor that covered key areas of his body. His helmet looked to be based off of the formal covering used for military officers. His stone-colored eyes shifted from the blank spot of the transport and to the door. Slowly, the door slid open, allowing the whipping wind to enter the small room he was in. With a calculated and noble air, he stood up and walked to the door, peering down at the remains of a ruined power-plant in Area-E. He smoothly pressed a button on his helmet, a visor sliding down from the beak that hid his eyes from view.

_Model C, your mission is to retrieve the Biometal from __**Aeolus**__, holder of Model H, and __**Siarnaq**__, holder of Model P. Are there any questions?_

"No," Model C looked at the various data displayed on the visor, "just give me the word and I'll handle it." He retracted the visor and looked at the power-plant again.

_Good answer. Remember, the plant used to be abandoned; there might still be some security mechaniloids. Be careful. _

Model C nodded crisply, "Understood." He jumped from the hovering drop-ship. The wind whipped his coat and whistled as it brushed passed his sharp ears. However, his stony eyes remained focused on the target area, unaffected by the rushing air. As he neared the ground, the skilled reploid flipped, his feet slamming on the old concrete with a solid thud.

"Be careful, I can feel mechaniloids inside." Model C straightened, his eyes shifting to a small, purple Cyber Elf. The small elf had long, lavender hair tied into a long braid. Her eyes were red and soft, holding a compassion her larger partner lacked. She shifted in her violet outfit, adjusting the skirt as she did habitually when sitting in the space between Model C's neck and the collar of his coat. Feeling his hard gaze, the Cyber Elf sank further into the fur that lined the inside of the coat, "Its colder here than back home, let's head inside."

Model C didn't respond verbally, but he started inside, getting a thankful smile from his little friend. As they approached the main gate, four Galleon Hunters ran out from the guard post, busters pointed at them. Model C calmly looked at them, his right hand running over the hilt of a sword. The Cyber Elf sank further in his coat, gripping the fabric firmly so she won't fall. In a blur of pure speed, the reploid severed the Galleons' buster arms, leaving them defenseless. Silently, he turned and slashed down, the orange saber shooting out three blue waves of energy. The crescent waves split three of the Galleons in two. Crimson fluid erupted from the ill-fated hunters, the explosion taking out the fourth and final enemy.

As the smoke cleared, Model C could be seen walking into the power plant, immune to the fact that he just ended the existence of four enemies.

**xxx**

Oblivious to the entrance of Model C, the bearers of Models H and P were busy executing an assignment of their own. Aeolus scoffed slightly at the data he was seeing, 'Those ignorant excuses for Megamen destroyed the system; it'll take months to restore the Cyber Elf Conversion process.' His eyes quickly shifted to his partner when he noticed him looking off into the distance, "Something wrong Siarnaq?"

Siarnaq's eyes thinned, focusing on a location through the various walls, "INTRUDER DETECTED TO THE NORTH, NO DATA AVAILABLE."

The holder of Model H looked at him in slight shock. He was certain one of their "old friends" would come to see what they're doing, "Can you give me an estimate of his, or her, ability." He rubbed his cheek absent mindedly, remembering how Ashe was sure to slap him their first meeting. He was sure Atlas or Thetis would've found it comical to see him get slapped.

Siarnaq was silent, examining the pace of approach and the signals being sent by the plant's mechaniloids and Galleons, "JUDGING FROM THE PACE AND READINGS, INTRUDER IS HIGHLY SKILLED."

Aeolus's scoff deepened, "As much as I'd love to meet our guest, our orders are to simply retrieve the data and leave." The calm Megaman faltered as an explosion shook his well postured stance, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

Siarnaq leaped backwards, landing in a crouched stance, "NO TIME, INTRUDER HAS REACHED OUR LOCATION."

"WHAT!?" Aeolus yelled, 'We brought enough force to keep even X himself at bay for at least a few more minutes, what is this thing!?' He shakily looked to the sealed door, feeling his legs falter yet again. Aeolus was a bit taken back, he wasn't scared quite yet, but he was sure that this wasn't going to be an easy encounter.

The situation would soon prove even worse, "ELECTRONIC COUNTER MEASURES ARE JAMMING TRANSERVER SIGNAL, WE ARE UNABLE TO ESCAPE." Siarnaq's emotionless statement didn't do the situation justice. Aeolus cursed, asking himself why he brought Siarnaq and not Thetis, or Atlas at that.

'At least those two can pack a heavier hit than Siarnaq.' Aeolus took a deep breath, 'Calm down, panicking does nothing but invite ruin.' Aeolus calmed down immediately, deciding to face this new enemy with a steely resolve, "Biomerge." He raised Model H, electricity and wind enveloping him. With a swipe of his hand, the storm of lightning and air was ceased, revealing the gleaming emerald armor of Model H.

"BIOMERGE." Siarnaq followed his partner's actions, shadow snaking their way over his body, leaving only his eyes and the triangular symbol on his forehead visible. With a swing of his hand, the shadows retreated, revealing the dark, almost black armor of Model P. He flipped the crimson scarf, allowing it to blow in the wind leaking from Aeolus's building resolve.

Aeolus balled his fists, a green glow coming from the gaps in the emerald armor, cackling electricity leaked from the building glow, wind whipping at his surroundings, "When the door opens, I'll strike first, you focus on getting behind whoever it is."

"I SHALL FOCUS ON RANGED ATTACKS, YOU USE YOUR CLOSE-RANGE ABILITIES TO HOLD THE INTRUDER AT BAY." Siarnaq agreed, his own body glowing a dull purple. The shadows in the room seemed to intensify, the various pipes and panels melting into the inky blackness.

**xxx**

"They should be just inside." The Cyber Elf popped her head out from inside Model C's coat, "That jamming system they put in you sure did come handy, didn't it brother."

Model C nodded and slowly made his way to the thick door that kept him out of the next room. However, the tapping of steps caused Model C to look back, the sight of two Galleon Hunters, both equipped with rocket launchers, aiming for him. He turned around to fully face them, watching with stoic confidence as the two rockets launched from the weapons and approached, trails of smoke following. Model C easily weaved between them and jumped into the air, saber raised. Just a few feet away from the Galleon Hunters, he drove his saber into the ground, sending a wave of purple energy ripping through the tiles of the floor, "Ground Hunter!" The roaring of the attack blocked out the pumping machines, the two poor Galleons engulfed by the attack and instantly destroyed.

The solid reploid stood up from his crouched position and started for the door again. This time, the door opened to his approach, as if frightened by the display of over-powering ability. The quiet soldier entered the core of the plant, noting the bits of floating energy particles and the misty haze that covered the pulsating core. His stony eyes instantly shifted to two glowing Megamen, each standing at a large computer that monitored the status of the core, as well as operations data.

Aeolus addressed the silent Model C, "I see the Guardians must have hired a new dog. I wander if you're as ignorant as the others." The green glow intensified as he jumped into the air, the boosters on his back springing to life.

Model C looked at his Cyber Elf, the little elf understanding his unsaid order, "Okay, I'll stay back." She jumped from his shoulder and flew up to the core, finding a place to sit down and watch from high above.

Knowing his partner was out of harms way, Model C focused on the two Megamen, "Hand over the Biometals in your possession, this is your first and last warning." He stood at a crisp attention, his hands placed at his sides. Aeolus returned his cold gaze, but the green Megaman's faltered after seeing the lack of any form of compassion.

"REQUEST UNACCEPTABLE, MOVING TO OFFENSIVE MEASURES." Siarnaq jumped out of Aeolus's way, a whirlwind of electrified wind shooting towards Model C. The outnumbered reploid closed his eyes calmly, drawing his sword and raising it in the air, pointing towards the sky. A bolt of lightning struck the saber, leading him to drive it into the ground. A rain of lightning came from above, neutralizing the electricity in the tornado. As the strong column of wind approached, Model C turned and slashed, cleaving the tornado in two. He was unharmed by Aeolus's charged attack.

"No way!" Aeolus watched as Siarnaq went on the offensive, shooting a volley of shuriken at Model C. Aeolus continued to observe, still awed, as Model C blocked and deflected the shuriken effortlessly, all while staring straight at him with the same stony gaze, 'He's a monster, where did this guy come from?' Aeolus drew both his swords, diving for Model C, "Siarnaq, check your fire!" He went to bring his first saber down on Model C's head, but his wrist was caught by the skilled reploid, "Don't get cocky." Aeolus smirked and went to stab him with his other saber, a wave of shuriken from Siarnaq backing him.

Model C glanced backwards, blocking Aeolus with his saber. Just before the shuriken came within a foot of him, a large bubble of energy blocked them, shielding his body from harm. Aeolus hovered in front of Model C in shock, one wrist held in a vice grip, the other being held back by his opponent's weapon, "Why," Aeolus looked into Model C's eyes, "why are you fighting to stop us?"

Model C spoke in a stoic voice, though it was clear he was solemn, "I made a mistake long ago, I won't allow anyone else to make that same mistake." He head-butted Aeolus and tossed him towards Siarnaq, "It robbed me of my sister, it killed the men and women I considered brothers and sister. And it robbed me of the reploid I saw as a father." Model C approached the two Megamen, one eye hidden by the beak that protruded from his helmet.

Aeolus readied both purple sabers, "What is your name? It's not often we meet someone who is not a Megaman and gives us such a display of skill."

Model C adjusted the beak of his helmet, "Know me as Colonel, now …" He dashed towards them, three after-images trailing, "defend yourselves!" He clashed sabers with Aeolus, gripping one of his wrists like before, preventing him from using his second saber. Aeolus cursed, but his mouth was silenced by Colonel's knee being driven into his jaw. The collision sent Aeolus flying backwards, giving Colonel a clear shot at Siarnaq. However, as Aeolus shot off, Colonel found himself staring at a large, spinning shuriken, thrown by none other than the wielder of Model P.

Colonel immediately dropped to his knees and leaned backwards until his back touched the floor, dodging the shuriken by a hair. He immediately spun to his right, dodging the saber of Aeolus, using his own block his second strike. The ex-Repliforce leader got to his feet and fazed from view, reappearing behind Siarnaq. The unsuspecting Megaman could do little as a saber went through his mid-section, forcing him to drop to the ground.

"Siarnaq," Aeolus glared at Colonel, "curse you!" He fired another electrified tornado, but he flew in the center of it, "Dodge this!"

Colonel repeated his last lightning attack, neutralizing the electricity again. He then swiped his saber three times, three waves of blue energy shooting off to meet Aeolus. The green Megaman snorted, using both swords to make one huge wave to block the three. However, as the light of the impact faded, Colonel was gone, "What!" Aeolus flipped, his feet hitting the wall with a loud thud. The tornado faded harmlessly, giving Colonel the opening he wanted.

"It's over." Colonel slashed at Aeolus, severing one of his arms. The limb flew clean off, Aeolus screaming shortly in utter pain and surprise. He held his arm, trying fruitlessly to slow the bleeding of his arm.

"AH, MY ARM!" Aeolus gripped is elbow tightly; it being the only thing left of his right arm. He glanced up through gritted teeth, seeing Colonel loom over him. His eyes glanced to the ground, catching something Colonel apparently didn't, "Do it, Colonel," He spat his name, "finish it."

Colonel remained motionless until he raised his saber, seemingly preparing to do as Aeolus asked. However, he suddenly turned to the side, dodging Siarnaq's sneak attack and grabbed his head. Colonel drove Siarnaq's head into the wall, the machine-like man's body going limp as he hung there, head in the wall. Colonel turned back to Aeolus, meeting his, once again, amazed eyes, "I warned you." He raised his boot and brought it down on Aeolus's head, the world going black for said Megaman. Colonel looked between the two and raised his saber again, but a voice brought him to a stop.

"Brother," The Cyber Elf swooped down and placed herself between Colonel and the fallen Megamen, "please, that's enough. They won't be able to fight back anymore." She looked up at Colonel, her eyes pleading with him to drop his saber.

Colonel remained still, staring at the Cyber Elf's eyes, "Very well Iris; please remove the Biometals." He dropped his saber and put it in its holster, "Our mission is done when we deliver it back to Biotech."

"Thank you brother." Iris swooped down to the motionless Aeolus, gently placing her hands on the gem that was cracked in his helmet. The red gem began to glow until Aeolus's body was enveloped in light, the Biometal separating from his body. Iris glanced to his healed over arm, 'Let his injury be a reminder of his extremist ideals.' Iris silently wished him well and moved on to Siarnaq. She repeated the process, only she touched his back due to his head being in the wall. As his Biometal separated, he dropped to the floor, his face covered in bruises and scratches.

Colonel looked between the two former Megamen, "Amazing what people do with power meant for good." He reached down and picked up the two Biometals, "Though … I know what it's like to fight hard for what you believe in." He looked to his shoulder when he felt Iris gently land on it. She gently smiled up at him, as if trying to soothe his guilt, "Let's head back Iris."

"I wander if they revived Zero and X yet." Iris felt Colonel stiffen ever so slightly. Iris looked to him again, "Brother…"

"I know Iris," Colonel looked down as they approached the exit, "I know." He stood as still as a statue as the drop-ship came down for a landing. He entered the drop-ship and sat down in the same spot as he did before, head lowered in thought. Iris simply snuggled into the fur that lined the inside of his coat and took a nap. She knew better than anyone that it was best to leave her brother to think when he so desired.

**A/N: I'm a fan of Colonel. To me, he was one of the cooler enemies in the Megaman X series. Anyway, for those who don't know, Iris and Colonel are siblings. What's special about them is that Colonel is the perfect soldier, but he lacks compassion, that's where Iris comes in. She has no true offensive purpose, but she does keep Colonel from loosing his mind in a killing, moral lacking frenzy. Anyway, the next chapter will include Models S and D against Atlas and Thetis. It's going to be a wildfire. Please read and review.**


	5. 04

**A/N: Nothing much to say, I do hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.**

**04: Burning Ice**

Model D sat in the transport silently, his eyes closed. A lone reploid woman watched the crimson warrior sitting just in front of her, noting a few key features. She swallowed a nervous knot in her throat upon feeling wave after wave of warm air. Her eyes started at his helmet, noting the three horns that stopped at his dreadlocks, the strands of hair ending just at his shoulders after going every which way wildly. His armor was a deep crimson color, bands of gold wrapping around his biceps and thighs. Over his abdomen, where most reploids had little protection, there was plated armor. All in all, it greatly resembled the skin of dragons, "U-Um, M-Model D?" The timid woman stuttered at she addressed the still figure.

Model D's eyes shot open, revealing sharp, almost disturbing, golden eyes. Flames seemed to be dancing in them with the ferocity of a volcano, beasts wanting to burst out and pounce at any second, "Is it time?"

She nodded, feeling even more nervous under his intense gaze, "Y-Yes, it seems the holders of Models F and L are trying to gather information in Area G. They were last seen in one of Biotech's newest branch buildings."

"Let me guess," Model D started, "it's been set ablaze by the one named **Atlas**." He glanced over to his right, the door to the amphibious transport opening. He stood up, cracking his knuckles, flames leaking out of the joints in his hands and forearm, "What's the status of Model S Karinka?" He looked back at the slightly shivering woman.

Karinka swallowed yet another knot, "H-He's making his way into position; he encountered some resistance along the way."

Model D nodded and started out. However, before he hopped out of the transport, he glanced back at Karinka, "Try not to feel too nervous around me, I've been told I make faces when I meditate." He smirked slightly, hoping the action would calm her down.

Karinka blinked before smiling back, "Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing stronger models like you guys." She scratched the back of her head before taking a deep breath, "Good luck Model D; try to come back safely."

Model D nodded and hopped down from the transport. He stood up and stretched, loosening his shoulders and legs before stretching an extra appendage. He heard Karinka gasp when a black, segmented tail swayed to and fro, heat emanating from it dangerously, "Keep radio silence, I don't want them knowing we're coming." He then jumped on top of the transport, a side hatch opening to reveal a Land Hunter. Model D hopped onto the motorcycle type vehicle and revved the engine, testing it out before speeding off. When he did, the plated wheels sent sparks flying through the air, a trail of flames following.

Karinka looked after Model D until he was out of sight, her eyes wide with amazement, "I'm starting to feel sorry for **Atlas** and **Thetis**."

xxx

Inside the evacuated branch building, Atlas and Thetis were making sure to search thoroughly for their target, "Did you find anything Thetis?" Atlas glanced at the soft spoken boy, glaring at the room around her. She made sure to turn it upside down, as seen by the various file-cabinets practically turned inside out.

Thetis ran a hand through his blue hair and sighed, "Nope, I can't find anything about Biotech's secret projects." He looked at the broken door to the administrator's office, "Why didn't we try to break into the main branch?"

Atlas shrugged, "Orders are orders, but I did hear that security at the main branch is top-notch." She smirked a bit, "Probably didn't want us burning down the city along with the building." She reached into her pocket and ran her fingers along Model F, still feeling the warmth from when she used it to set the lower floors ablaze.

Thetis, sensing the path of her thoughts, smiled smartly towards the fiery girl, "You do know that this place could go at any moment, thanks to your short temper of course." He quickly leaped backwards when Atlas made a swing for him. He knew she wasn't trying, but getting the smallest rise out of her was still a victory.

Atlas glared at the large grin on Thetis' face, "I made sure to avoid the support beams, so it should be fine." Her features darkened, "Besides, the guard was asking for it."

Thetis's grin grew, "The guy tripped, it's not like he groped you on purpose." He dodged another swing, chuckling at Atlas's reddening face.

Atlas growled before simply walking away, "Come on kid, we're trying the next floor also." She smiled privately when she heard the familiar groan from Thetis.

"Quit calling me kid Atlas, you're only two years older than I am!" He pouted when Atlas laughed, getting a glare out of him. However, both of them stopped dead when the whole building shook, "W-What's that!?"

Atlas paused, feeling the rumbling carefully. Her eyes widened, her senses telling her exactly what's going on. She turned and tackled Thetis, an explosive pillar of flame barely missing him. Both Megamen landed with a thud, but they were too preoccupied with their new guest than anything else. Atlas and Thetis looked into the pillar of flame, seeing a lone silhouette glaring right back at them, "Whoever you are, you just messed with the wrong person!" Atlas immediately took out Model F, "Biomerge!" Her body was engulfed by flames of her own, the orange armor appearing around her body. She dispelled the flames, embers flickering in the glow of her own power.

Thetis got off the floor and dusted himself off, a serious looked on his face, "I assume this guy isn't Ashe or Grey," He took out Model L, "but I don't really care." He raised his Biometal, "Biomerge!" He instantly became covered in ice, the sudden drop in temperature putting out some of the flames spreading through the room. When he broke out of the ice, shards of frozen water shot towards the one in the pillar of flame. Thetis expected the shard to strike, but a hand easily caught the chunk of ice and looked at it.

"Pathetic, this power is nothing like X's," He crushed the shard, "and Zero would make quick work of both of you if this is the best you can do." Model D landed on the carpeted room and glared at the two Megamen.

Atlas snorted, "Please, why would someone like you be here?"

Model D looked at the room around him, "I believe I'm one of those projects you're trying to find out about." His golden eyes snapped to Atlas and Thetis, seeing the look of shock on their faces. Unfortunately, Model D suddenly didn't feel much like talking anymore, instead, he wanted to get the job done. As Thetis opened his mouth to ask Model D a question, the reploid went into action. In a flash, Model D had a fist planted in Thetis's gut, flames roaring out of his forearm.

"T-Thetis!" Atlas watched, as if the world was suddenly slowed down, Thetis flew through the wall. The shocked Atlas went to raise her knuckle-buster, but Model D was already ducked down for another attack. She felt the win get knocked from her when Model D elbowed her in the stomach, but her Biometal allowed her to stand her ground. She faltered a bit, only to get a boot to the face. With a cry of pain, she shot off in the same direction Thetis did, adding another hole to the wall.

Thetis groaned before looking beside him, seeing Atlas get to her feet. The wielder of Model L hopped to his feet and drew his Halberd, "That guy, he's pretty strong." He looked at Model D as he slowly approached, golden eyes still focused on them.

Atlas raised her knuckle-buster, "Strong or not, I'll burn him to nothing!" She raised her second knuckle-buster and started firing both, adjusting the fire to throw Model D off. However, Model D easily saw the trajectory changes and weaved between them, eyes never leaving Atlas and Thetis.

"Eat this!" Thetis swung his Halberd, a dragon of ice shooting out, mouth open to devour Model D. However, Model D reeled back, taking a deep breath. Thetis and Atlas looked on in utter amazement as Model D suddenly let out his held breath, a large stream of flames meeting the ice dragon and melting it, "H-Holy sh…" Thetis was silenced by a boot to the jaw, the steam from the melted ice covering Model D's approach.

"Burn darn you!" Atlas turned and started firing her knuckle-busters. However, two hands gripped the muzzle of the busters, the plasma shots impacting the hands of Model D harmlessly. Atlas continued to fire, though she felt helplessness grip at her chest savagely.

"Like I said," Model D brought his knee up into Atlas's jaw, "pathetic." Atlas flew off into the still shrouding steam, droplets of blood trailing behind. Model D snorted, embers shooting from his nostrils, 'This is getting ridiculous, when is Model S going to get into position!?'

"Don't drop your guard around us!" Thetis appeared behind Model D and brought his Halberd down, attempting to cleave him in two. However, a tail grabbed him by the neck and threw him in a random direction. Thetis cried out when he ran into Atlas, just as she started a fiery tackle.

Atlas immediately halted and caught Thetis, her flaming gaze focused on a stoic Model D, "Who are you, what are you?"

Model D got into a kick-boxing stance, "I was once an Irregular Hunter, my name was then, and forever will be, Magma Dragoon!" He charged Atlas, forcing her to drop Thetis. Dragoon took another deep gulp of air and breathed out, flames flowing from his mouth. Atlas growled and threw Dragoon off, but the veteran reploid wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her closer, his knee making impact with her chest.

"Back off!" Thetis dashed for Dragoon when Atlas flew off into another wall. He raised his Halberd and brought it down, a ball of ice forming in front of him, "Dodge this!" He slashed the chunk of ice, sharp shards shooting towards Dragoon and the surroundings.

Dragoon snorted again, spreading his arms and roaring. A large bubble of pure heat formed around him, various exhausts on his body spewing out pent up thermal energy. The shards of ice soon became nothing but water, splashing Dragoon harmlessly, "Fire melts ice." His eyes suddenly widened when a voice responded.

"Earth suffocates fire!" Atlas drove her knuckle busters into the floor, spikes of earth shooting up to skewer Dragoon. Atlas smirked wickedly, watching as the spikes of cement skewered Dragoon, but it soon dropped when he disappeared in a shroud of flame, "W-What!?"

"Atlas, behind you!" Thetis rushed over to her, but it was too late. Atlas turned around to see Dragoon's hands, both put together at their wrists.

"Hadouken!" A strong blast of flames hit Atlas, sending her flying into yet another wall. However, Atlas tried to get up, but her body chose then to give out. With a moan of pain, she lost consciousness, reverting back to her normal form. Model F fell from her hands and landed on the ground.

"A-Atlas." Thetis glared hard at Dragoon, "you'll pay for that!"

Dragoon snorted again, "Sorry, game's over." He snapped his fingers. Thetis felt the hairs on his neck prickle, his eyes shooting to the window. Just as his eyes saw the light of the sun, a beam of energy went through the window and through Thetis. Dragoon watched him drop his Halberd and lookdown at the hole in chest, the space no bigger than a single grape.

Thetis fingered the hole and looked back up at the window, "A-A sniper?" The light in his eyes faded as he dropped to the ground, reverting back to his normal state. Joining his partner, Thetis lost conscious, his fingers clutching for Model L.

Dragoon looked out the window and tapped a section of his helmet, "Nice job, you're a pretty nice shot."

**xxx**

"Just gather the Biometals, time is an issue." A reploid three buildings away got up from his lying position, his sniper-type buster in one arm. He straightened the beak of his helmet and started taking the buster apart, placing the various sections into a case carefully. He quickly de-activated the cloaking system, revealing his dark form. To most, he seemed to resemble Colonel greatly, save for the golden chain dangling from the collar of his coat, to his shoulder. On his broad shoulders, there were two small poles that were still cackling with energy, "Cloaking device deactivated, returning to base."

_Rodger that Signas, nice shot._

Signas, the former leader of the Irregular Hunters, started out of the parking garage he was in, the image of a shot Thetis flashing through his thoughts, 'Such a pity, that boy could've used his abilities for a better good.' He started down to the lower level, looking out into the city that got back into its normal flow, 'Though, I do understand where he was coming from.' He continued to the final floor and walked into the light, ignoring the various looks he was receiving from passing citizens of Innerpeace. Signas sighed and looked up into the blue sky, "I wander if Colonel will be up for a round of drinks later; he looked like he could use one."

_Signas, we have a mission update._

Signas opened his comm.-link, "Go ahead."

Sensors detected a small force of Galleon approaching your position, you are to head to a sniping position and give Dragoon some assistance.

"Understood, moving out." Signas ran back into the parking garage and activated his cloaking device. In the darkness of the garage, his form completely disappeared from view. Signas double timed his pace when he heard a distant explosion, his eyes searching for anything to make his route easier. When he saw the roof of a fairly tall building below him, Signas ran for the rail of the garage. Taken a leap of faith, Signas jumped from the garage and onto the roof, rolling after he landed to reduce the impact.

"Signas, where are you!?" Dragoon's voice erupted over the comm.-link, gaining a twitch of the sniper's eye.

Signas suppressed a groan, "I'll be there soon Dragoon, E.T.A at two minutes." Signas sprinted forward, seeing the smoke from the attack nearby, 'Another building and I'll be there.' Signas jumped from the roof again, but this time, he had to go through the tenth story window. Signas burst through the glass and landed on the desk of a rather startled secretary, "Sorry."

The secretary fainted, thinking a ghost had just spoken.

Signas rolled his eyes and sprinted for the elevator, "I ought to remember that people can't see me in Cloak Mode." Signas cursed when he saw people scrambling for the elevator and decided the stairs would be faster. Kicking down the door, Signas made his way up the stairs, using the rails to pull himself up the stairs faster. When he finally reached the roof, he kicked the door down and made his way to the edge of the roof. With practiced precision, Signas opened the case and assembled the sniper-type buster. The long, highly accurate rifle was taller than Signas, the barrel he chose for outdoor combat standing up to his waist, "Dragoon," Signas got into a lying position and looked though the scope, "I'm in position, move in."

"About time. Alright, I'm going in, cover me Signas." Signas saw Dragoon spring out from behind a flaming truck, his scope searching for any targets.

Signas held his breath when he saw a bus holding a small number of Galleon, 'Now,' He squeezed the trigger, the beam of energy shooting out to blow off the head of the first Galleon. Not giving his friends time to react, Signas fired off three more shots, killing the last three. He immediately looked for Dragoon, seeing him crush the head of one of the leading Galleon, 'Good, if we take out the leaders, the others will easily follow.' Signas looked farther up the street, seeing two more Galleon with blue stripes on their arm, 'Perfect.' He fired off a shot, blowing off the gun arm of the first. Adjusting the sniper's scope, Signas fired again, this time; he took out both leaders with one shot each.

**xxx**

Dragoon threw aside another demolished Galleon, seeing Signas kill two of the three remaining leaders, 'That guy is one sharp shot, I would've never guessed he was this good.' Dragoon scowled when he felt a Galleon sneak up behind him, but his tail skewered the lone attacker, "You should know better than that."

Dragoon threw the Galleon off his tail and peered around, "Signas, there are five more, but I can't get to them. They're hiding out in the grocery store just up the street."

**xxx**

"Rodger that." Signas focused his scope on the grocery store. It was small, but none of the Galleon dare stand at the windows, "Switching to thermal mode." A visor dropped over his eyes, showing him the thermal signatures of the five Galleon. The skilled sniper quickly reached for the case beside him, gripping the second of the three barrels resting inside. He quickly unscrewed the one he was using and replaced it. In the same motion, he replaced the normal rounds with high-penetration rounds.

'Alright,' Signas looked back at the grocery store and aimed for the heat signature's center. He fired a round, the barrel sparking with energy before firing a glowing bullet, the shell surrounded by energy. The bullet passed through the walls of the grocery store and into the Galleon's core, killing it instantly. Signas immediately fired off four more rounds, dispelling the last of the Galleon with ease, "Confirm kills." He waited as Dragoon entered the grocery store.

"Kills confirmed, nice shooting Signas." Dragoon looked down at the remains of the Galleon, each one cut in two by the railgun rounds Signas fired.

Signas dismantled the sniper-type buster again, placing it back in the case, "Did you get the Biometals?" He leaned against the edge of the roof, the beak of his hat covering his steely emerald eyes.

Dragoon snorted over the comm.-link, "Yeah, all we have to do is deliver them and give a mission report."

Signas grunted in confirmation. He stood up and jumped from the roof, landing next to Dragoon. Both reploids walked down the flaming streets, stepping over the bits of debris lying around. Signas deactivated his Cloak Mode and walked with Dragoon towards the transport vehicle. The am-tracked transport cut through the flames and approached them, the Land Hunter already loaded back inside.

Silently, both reploids climbed in and sat down, Karinka awaiting them patiently. She nervously smiled at Signas and Dragoon, "Glad to see you both safe."

Dragoon held up the Biometals, "We got them, how did Colonel do?"

Karinka flipped through the clipboard she held against her chest, "Uh, we got a report during your assignment that Colonel retrieved the Biometals with little injuries." Karinka sighed, 'These three are unbelievable, I thought the Chosen Ones were good, but these guys are like gods.'

Dragoon puffed a small ember of flame, "I didn't even have to use my true form, this was a waste of time."

Karinka giggled at his disappointed expression. However, her violet eyes turned to Signas, examining him as he sat quietly in the transport, 'He's quiet. Maybe it's because he's a sniper.' Karinka continued to watch him curiously until she noticed his emerald eyes looking right back at her. Karinka yelped and stuttered out an apology, "I-I'm sorry, it was rude of me to stare." She bowed repeatedly, but Signas just waved it off.

"I understand." He looked up at the ceiling, one hand running along the case of his sniper rifle, "I always meditate on the mission after finishing; making sure I didn't overlook anything you understand." He looked back down and closed his eyes calmly.

Karinka just blinked in awe at Signas's cool response, 'These guys, Magma Dragoon, Colonel and Signas, they all are superiorly designed. But why would someone put so much effort in building them to be so… perfect?' Karinka looked back at the clipboard, finding that the silence of the transport, along with the slight rocking of the ride soothing. Before long, she was asleep.

"I can't help but wander," Dragoon suddenly said, "why we were awakened exactly."

Signas looked over at him, "Hopefully, it has nothing to do with the Zero Virus returning."

Dragoon grunted in thought, "I fear … that hope is all we may have Signas."

**xxxxxxxxxxx**

Meanwhile, back in Area C, Exilion looked around with a stoic expression. The sight itself would've affected anyone else, but the white colored reploid simply examined what was in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes went to a purple figure floating above him, "Nightmare Zero."

The corrupted copy of the crimson hunter grinned down insanely, "Exilion, the Megaman built only to destroy Zero." He drew his grey colored saber, "Come meet your nightmares!" He dove towards Exilion, his cackles echoing through the silent Area C.

**A/N: I'm also a fan of Magma Dragoon (all time favorite Megaman villain beside Omega) and Signas. I decided to make Signas a sniper because of his thinking ability; it just fit if you ask me. Magma Dragoon, well, he uses his fists to fight which is different and awesome. I'm glad that people usually got two of the three mystery models right, but I knew Dragoon was going to be tough. Please continue to read and review!**


	6. 05

A/N: Sorry for the extended absence, I needed time to finish a prier project and time to rest

**A/N: Sorry for the extended absence, I needed time to finish a prier project and time to rest. Thanks to that time off, however, I can ensure the absolute best from me. Anyway, I'm going to update more often, so please bear with me for just awhile longer.**

**05: Exile Nightmare**

"Absolutely amazing," Prairie marveled at the idle bodies lying in the beds. The lab had gone silent as Ciel and Seth finished the new bodies of the once lost heroes of old. Prairie shivered upon examining the former generals of Neo Arcadia, remembering all the stories she'd heard of them hunting down members of the resistance, 'It'll be hard to trust them, but I'm sure they will be good allies.' She assured herself, "When will they be ready?"

"Technically," Ciel scratched the back of her head, "as soon as the Models are returned, we can start." She looked to Seth, "Are you certain the force you sent out was enough? The ones who stole the Models had to have to be pretty strong." A nod from Prairie assured Ciel that she was correct.

Seth chuckled at their concern, "I assure you," His eyes glistened with confidence, "we only chose the best and trained them to be the best."

Ciel and Prairie gave him a skeptical look, "I can hardly believe original Models can stop those based off of Zero and X. True, the Generals of Neo Arcadia were inferior to Zero, but they still hold a piece of X. Are you sure you can stop them?"

Seth simply turned towards the large super-computer and stood behind Alia, "May I?" Alia nodded and allowed him to get to the keyboard. Seth typed in a series of codes, accessing files only available to him, "Take a look and decide for yourselves." He hit the 'Enter' command, three extensive files popping onto the screen. The information was moving quickly, but Alia and Ciel could easily see them.

Alia was the first to gasp in shock, she knew only the bear minimums of Seth's plan, but to use such pivotal figures was astoundingly brilliant, "Colonel," She stared at the first file, seeing the vast amount of overwhelming attack data, "Magma Dragoon," Her eyes shook at the information displaying increased combat and mobile ability. On the final file, Alia sank into her seat, "Signas too?"

Ciel looked at Alia as she listed the names, recognizing each. Colonel, the Reploid who led the Repliforce in trying to form a 'Haven for Reploid kind', was the perfect soldier and a formidable match for Zero himself. Magma Dragoon, the more famous ally to the Repliforce, was an Irregular Hunter who switched sides and was defeated. Then there was Signas, the former head of the Irregular Hunters. Records indicated his disappearance around the same time of Alia's, but nobody knew why, or where, he went, "I see," Ciel smiled slightly, "you remade them and improved their performance. Statistically, they're a perfect trio for combat."

Seth's smirk grew into a full smile, "Don't forget Exilion." His smile fell when he noticed the room grow tense. He gave the women a questioning look until it hit him, "Oh yeah, I guess I never explained what Exilion is did I?" He cleared his throat, preparing to explain. However, Marian burst out of the elevator, interrupting him frantically, "Report," His body tensed upon seeing Marin anxious.

"Exilion has engaged Nightmare Zero." Her breathing was heavy, her body shaking slightly. Seth turned to try and get a streaming video of the fight, but Marian stopped him, "Sir, I'm afraid you don't understand," She was beside him in a flash, gently gripping his wrist, "Exilion engaged the target… he destroyed it within thirty seconds."

Seth stared at Marian in utter shock, "T-Thirty seconds," Seth hesitantly repeated, "how is that even possible?" Marian instantly calmed herself and stood up, still gripping Seth's wrist. Knowing why she was still doing so, Seth didn't address it, instead linking to the transports, "This is Seth Arcs to all Jaeger Units: you are to return to base immediately. I repeat, return to base immediately."

"Seth?" Ciel asked carefully, hearing the distress in his voice.

Alia silently analyzed the situation, only coming to one conclusion, "We've been baited."

Prairie nodded in agreement, "I see, it seems whoever is pulling the strings wanted to see what his competition was." She looked into space, sifting through any possibilities, "The question is, who is it?"

"I don't know, but perhaps its best we awaken X and Zero now rather than later." Seth nodded towards Marian, the secretary calmly making her way to X and Zero's beds. She unhooked a series of wires and removed three empty vials from their chests, a pair of emerald and coal-grey eyes opening immediately.

**xxx**

Exilion stood over the wreckage of Nightmare Zero, coldly staring at his mangled form with little sense of pity. His eyes shifted from his felled opponent to the population of Area C. Each human was in the streets, their faces expressionless and pale. They were all on their knees, torso's craned upwards towards the empty sky. Their cold hands were clasped together, held in front of their chests and raised as if praying to an unseen god. With his eyes still focused on this scene, Exilion put one hand to his helmet, receiving Seth's order. Turning on his heel, Exilion started for the Transerver, "Thomas,"

**xxx**

'Why did I get stuck with doing this?' Prairie sighed and continued to stare at the sound-proof door in front of her. She carefully raised her hand to the control panel, the button to open the door blinking menacingly. As her finger grew closer to the touch-screen, her other hand went to cover her ear, turning her head to try and muffle the coming noise, 'Here goes nothing,'

_Beep_

The door swished open, allowing the flood of loud rock and techno music. Prairie immediately looked towards the sound-system, seeing the stereos pumping hard as they drowned out Ashe's "air-guitar show", much to Grey's appreciation. Vent and Aile were going at it in a racing game, random explosions trying to trip them up as they shot for the finish-line. Grey was lazily playing a game of darts, smirking as the darts whizzed over Ashe's head and right in front of her closed eyes, 'I'm glad that kid has better aim than Vent.' She felt her stomach drop when a dart went between Ashe's spread arms as she leaned back.

The pink-clad Guardian crossed the room without uttering a word, switching off the stereo first. Unfortunately, this left only Ashe's guitar impression as the loudest sound at the moment. This caused Grey to flinch, missing the dart-board and hitting a poster of "Rockman X6" right between X's eyes. Vent and Aile froze in their tracks at the lack of sound.

The two original Chosen Ones were tangled up, Aile on top as she pinned Vent down due to her victory in the game. Vent, bent into a rather uncomfortable pretzel, looked to Prairie, "What's up, did you guys get the Models back?" His face scrunched as he let out a pained grunt, hearing his arm pop in Aile's grip, "Can you get OFF!?"

"Nope," Aile stuck out her tongue and made herself comfortable.

Prairie sighed and answered Vent's question, "Well, it seems we stepped into a trap set by whoever is controlling those other Megamen," She paused to snatch off Ashe's headphones, bringing her back to reality, "we'll need to send you guys out to investigate until we can complete the others."

Grey shrugged, "Fine, as long as we don't have to deal with those crazy Megamen we should be good." He looked to Vent and Aile, smirking when Vent picked Aile up to free himself, 'And don't pair with either of them, they'll get me killed.' All four Chosen Ones filed out of the room, Ashe glaring at Grey when she figured he'd been using her for target practice.

xxx

It was strange. Having been a motionless object for a long period of time, it was awkward getting used to walking. Fingers were flexed, uneasy steps were taken, and those watching had to control themselves. Even though it was happening before their very eyes, it was hard to believe. Before them, the legendary Irregular Hunters, X and Zero stood. They greatly resembled their designs during the dark days of Weil, but their fluid movements spoke of their internal upgrades.

Zero and X locked eyes, their blank faces slowly turning into expressions of joy and relief. The legendary duo locked arms, renewing their brotherly promise to fight beside one another once more, "Good to see you up and about X." Zero calmly checked his joints and smirked.

X smiled at his friend and tested his trigger finger, "Yeah well, it's been awhile, but I think I can still aim a Buster." The two chuckled slightly and looked to their audience. X looked towards the teary eyed Alia and the gawking Chosen Ones, "Uh, hi?"

Zero rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "You guys act like you haven't seen a reploid before, dang." His eyes popped open when Ciel embraced him suddenly, the normally reserved warrior faltering slightly.

X smiled at the scene and looked towards Alia, "What," He opened his arms innocently, "I don't get one from you?" Alia was in his arms in a second, making sure to hug him tight enough to ensure that he was real, "Sorry for the absence Alia, I had to do what had to be done."

Alia nodded against him and sniffled, "Yeah I know," She wiped her eyes and returned his smile, "but do you think you could've warned me before you went and sealed yourself?"

X shot a glance towards Zero, "Well you know me, I'm easily influenced by my friends."

"Low blow X, low blow," Zero's small smirk disappeared as he turned to the still shocked Chosen Ones, "As good as all this is, we have other things to be thinking about."

Seth snapped from his awed state and started for the lifeless Biometals, "Yes, yes of course. Now, eventhough X and Zero's elves are not inside the Biometals, their combat data is still there. Everything should work fine." He picked up the metals and turned to Vent and Aile, but X stood in his way.

"X?" Aile gave him a confused look, examining his face for any sort of explanation. She knew immediately what his problem was when she met his gaze. Out of the two Biometals, she had grown the closest to Model X, often finding his intelligent and philosophical observations interesting. While Vent began to draw from Model Z's calm, but intense "aura", Aile had grown accustomed to having quiet conversations with the mild-tempered Biometal.

X looked at the Chosen Ones, all four of them, "Listen guys, I don't think you should get involved in this one." He looked back to Zero, trying to see if he supported him. Unfortunately, the Crimson Hunter showed no signs of either agreeing or disagreeing.

Vent stepped forward, taken back by X's words, "What are you talking about, you guys will need all the help you can get!"

X shook his head, "We've been doing this stuff for ages Vent," He looked at the Chosen Ones softly, "I don't want to needlessly put humans at risk. Let us handle things from here on out. I'm sure Prairie would be glad to give you safer jobs in the Guardians and we'll be sure to give Grey and Ashe their dew bounty." X turned his back on them and closed his eyes, "Return to a normal life, leave the fighting to those who were made to fight."

Aile placed a hand on Vent's shaking shoulder, ready to try and reason with X. However, before she could utter a word, multiple doors behind them hissed open. All eyes went to the doors, four reploids walking towards the center platform where X and the others stood.

Zero and X simultaneously tensed, recognizing Colonel and Magma Dragoon. Likewise, Colonel steadily stared at Zero, the air becoming silent and tense. Dragoon didn't speak a word, simply examining X and Zero's forms. It's been centuries since he's seen them, and their power had not wavered by what he could tell so far. X broke eye contact with Dragoon and looked to the Signas, relaxing upon recognizing him, "Signas, it's been a long time."

Signas swiftly saluted and smiled down at X, "It has, I see you haven't become any less positive since becoming a leader." His smile fell slightly, "How does it feel to know you've been dethroned?"

X stretched and grinned, "Amazingly less stressful. I never did like the weight put on your shoulders when leading mankind to a brighter future." His grin fell, "But then, I suppose I didn't do such a good job if the world fell into disrepair again huh." He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, Signas looking down at him with understanding.

"Do not let it get to you X, you did your best." He raised his gaze to Colonel, glancing at Zero quickly. It was a signal, telling him to 'say something or I will'.

Colonel returned to staring at Zero, truly at a loss for words. What could he say? He forgave him? For what, Zero did nothing but his duty. I'm sorry? Colonel was not sorry, he truly believed in General back then, he was doing his duty as well. He had nothing to be sorry for. Let's be friends? No, there was too much bad blood for that sudden change. No, Colonel continued to stare, hoping something would happen to establish their standing.

"Zero," The Crimson Hunter looked to Colonel's collar, seeing it shuffle. He was shocked when a purple Cyber Elf flew out to greet him, floating just in front of his face. He examined the elf closely, seeing her red cap and long braid that went to her ankles.

Recognition finally hit him, "I-Iris?" He watched the small Cyber Elf fly around him, her usual smile brightening her features.

Iris nodded, "Yup, it seems you haven't changed much Zero." She giggled and turned to her brother, giving him a stern look, "Now brother, I want you to say something to Zero, you're not enemies anymore and there's no reason for you to not be civil towards him." She folded her arms over her small chest and glared at him.

Anyone who knew Colonel knew that his only soft spot was Iris, "Very well," He looked to Zero, "So…" Everyone leaned in slightly, awaiting him to finish.

"The suspense is killing me," Alia held on to X, trying to keep herself from exploding with anticipation.

"Intense," Ashe and Grey said simultaneously, tempted to try and cut the tense air with a knife.

"You still weak on your right?" Everyone fell over when Colonel finished.

"BROTHER!"

Zero stared, dumbfounded at his former rival. As silence hung for a few seconds, he smiled, then he started to chuckle. Before long, he doubled over, trying to suppress his laughter, "No Colonel," He lightly punched him in the arm, "after you managed to exploit it, I fixed that flaw in my fighting style." He took out the Z-Saber, spinning it around before pointing it at Colonel.

Colonel smirked and removed his own beam-saber, the two swords meeting in an 'X' shape. Everyone watched with interest, knowing from this scene where they stood. Where they were once enemies, they are now a strange sort of friends. It wasn't a relationship like X and Zero had, but a bond between rivals, fellow saber wielders. It was a bond that swore to watch each other's back, but to never fall too far behind in the other in skill.

Seth smirked at the scene and sighed, "I swear, I sometimes wonder what happened to our reploids. They seemed so… exquisite in the past." He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, "Well Models, did you get the Biometals?" He received nods from the four reborn reploids, "Good, place them in their designated places and await further orders."

BAM

All eyes turned to Vent, seeing his fist planted in a dent in the wall. Growling to himself, he walked off, his hair covering his eyes from view. Everyone looked from Vent to X, seeing the Blue Bomber looking away from the retreating Chosen One, "He'll understand, just give him time to cool off."

Aile resisted the urge to contradict X, instead focusing on her partner, "I'll go see if he's alright." She whispered and started after him, feeling the same thing Vent was.

It was to this environment Exilion came. He walked into the large underground facility, seeing Vent stalk past him with Aile close behind, trying to get his attention. He watched the Chosen Ones retreat into the lounge room, shrugging it off as normal human problems, "I'm assuming everyone already knows the situation?"

Seth sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Yes, but it would probably be best if you gave us a full report of your findings Exilion. I'm sure we can piece something together."

"We'll just go and check on Vent and Aile." Ashe tapped Grey and motioned for him to come along, the reploid boy agreeing without argument.

Alia looked from the last pair of retreating Chosen Ones and then to X, "I think you were a bit hard on them."

X shook his head, his face holding a sad seriousness to it, "I know what happens when I entrust my tasks to others. It didn't work with the Four Guardians, and I will not make that mistake again."

Alia didn't respond, figuring it would be best to continue at a better time. She looked to Exilion as he stood in front of everyone, his steady and lifeless eyes creeping some of the occupants out a little.

"Upon entering Area C, I was able to collect fragments of an unfamiliar strain of and abnormality within the world-wide network. In other words, I picked up signals of a new strand of virus. To be blunt, my systems have dubbed it, the Omega Virus…"

**A/N: So sorry for the absence, I got caught up in a few things and ran out of available time. Anyway, I've been doing sketches for my OCs and the thing was I was having trouble finding good Rockman Zero artwork to go off of. That's when I found out the Megaman Zero Official Complete Works was coming to North America. Needless to say, being the MMZ fan I am, I picked it up and I love the thing to no end. Expect a trailer for this story as an apology for my absence, as well as a showcase for some of my characters. Please continue to read and review!**


	7. 06

**06: Beck and Call**

"Vent," Aile called after her partner and friend as he continued into the underground facility, "Vent hold on!" She continued to chase him, running when he broke into a sprint. She had left the meeting to look for Vent, unable to focus knowing he was upset. She was not going to let him go off on his own, not when he was like this. She came to halt when Vent ducked into another room and shut the door, locking in her face, "Come on Vent," Aile knocked on the solid door, "you know X didn't mean it like that, he just doesn't want us getting hurt."

Aile waited for Vent to say something, but he did not respond. On the other side of the door, Vent was lost in his own thoughts. He growled quietly in frustration, running a hand through his brown hair. Why was he so upset? Was it because X said he couldn't fight anymore? Was it because he felt that X and the others saw them as nothing but children? Vent looked to the floor, examining each blue tile as he thought to himself. It was all of those reasons, and an unknown 'X' factor. He heard Aile knock again, but still didn't respond. He couldn't face, not when he was like this, 'She'd probably laugh at me.'

The female Chosen One it her lip when Vent still refused to respond, "Vent," She looked towards the ground when she heard footsteps behind her.

"So he locked himself in a utility closet?" It was Ashe who said this, he eyes focused on the sign above the door. She yelped when Grey elbowed her firmly and returned his glare, "What?"

Grey shook his head slowly and turned around, "Come on, it's probably best we leave him to himself." Grey started to walk towards the resting area before Model A popped out of his pocket.

"Hey, hey, hey," Model A looked towards the door, "are you guys really going to just leave him in there?"

Ashe hesitantly shrugged, "There's nothing we can do. If Vent wants to be by himself, let him." She turned to follow Grey, glancing over her shoulder at Aile, "You coming?"

Aile hesitantly turned to follow, casting another glance to the door before nodding, 'Vent,'

* * *

In the computer room, X and the others were discussing what Exilion had said. X and Zero were the more serious of the group, having experienced the full extents of the Sigma and Zero Viruses, "Can you tell if this virus has anything to do with me?" Zero kept his eyes on the table they were all sitting around. He felt Ciel glance at him in concern, but brushed it aside, he had to know, for his and everyone else's sakes.

Exilion stared into space, his eyes flashing while data was fed directly to his brain, "Yes, but no. The source of the virus is not you Zero, but its source code is the same style. The source is more than likely from the same manufacturer as you." Exilion robotically looked to Zero, then to X, and finally to Alia.

"This is very bad," Alia placed her hand over her face, placing an elbow on the table. She gently smiled when X held her hand comfortingly, but concern was still shown on her face, "If this virus follows the trend of the others, it could cause catastrophic damage, and not just to Reploids."

Ciel nodded in agreement and understanding, "Since every human is now partially Reploid, and vice versa, the virus could potentially wipe out all life as we know it." The room went silent as everyone tried to piece what little they knew together. The veterans to conflict showed the greatest signs of concern, but X and Zero kept a facade of calm.

"The Guardians," X suddenly said, looking to Ciel and Seth, "they were in the possession of the other Chosen Ones. Maybe they know something."

Seth's face lit up, "Brilliant, we should get started on it!" He looked to Exilion, "Continue to try and pinpoint the source, we need to discover it as soon as possible." With that, the two scientists got to work, everyone else awaiting further results.

* * *

Vent continued to indulge in his solitude, now having plenty of time to think of everything he needed to. It shocked him how many issues he'd yet to resolve within himself. There was the whole killing Giro, his suddenly being forced to fight, all the evil he has seen, all the friends he's lost, Aile. The list went on and on, but with every thought, a sound became more and more heard. It started as a low hum, a faint thumping sound. Within minutes, it became a muffled voice.

**Why are you wasting her time in this room?**

Vent's head shot up when he heard the voice clearly. It sounded like Model Z...er Zero's voice, but... colder. It was hollow, but powerful. Emotionless, yet passionate, "Who's there?" Vent tried to look through the dimness of the utility closet. It was a spacious room with two doors. Vent looked at the sign of the adjacent door, seeing that it led to the transerver.

**You know who I am, I am Model O.**

The Chosen One jumped, feeling a jet of cold air run down his spine, "H-How are you talking to me, we sealed you didn't we?" He gasped when he felt a weight in his pocket. Instinctively, he reached into his trouser pocket and took out Model O, staring into its eyes, "W-What, h-how?"

**Are you so weak that you cannot speak to something an eighth your size?**

Vent glared at the Biometal, "What do you want, and how did you get here?" He spoke firmly, feeling his anger boil to the surface faster than usual. He knew exactly what was going on. Model O fed on anger and hate, it seemed to amplify these emotions and use them for energy. As a result, it was a godly Biometal in terms of power, but hard to control.

**The moment you touched me, you and I became tied together. As long as you hold anger and hate, I will be able to appear before you. As for why I'm here, I want to help you.**

Vent snorted, "Yeah right, more like control me. I don't need help, especially your kind of help."

**The tell me Chosen One, seeing how you have things figured out, how do you plan on proving your worth to X and the others? Those Reploids in that room are legendary, you can't show them your worth through tough words and a few boy-scout actions.** Model O's voice seemed to grow deeper as he continued. **What you need, **_**child**_**, is power.**

Vent considered the Biometal's words. As much as he hated to admit it, it was right. He needed power if he was going to show everyone that being a Chosen One wasn't a simple substitute job. There are things he could do that X and the others couldn't, he needed them to see that. "..."

"M-master X,"

"X, is that you sir?"

"Master X?"

"Lord X,"

X sighed heavily, rolling his green eyes at the Four Former Guardians, "How many times have I told you four to quit calling me 'Master' and 'Lord'?"

Harpuia, Leviathan, Fafnir, and Phantom climbed down from their capsules, each testing their balance and joints, "Master X," Harpuia saw X sigh again, "it is really you." He allowed a small smile, "It is good to see you moving in a body again sir."

"No way," The loud Fafnir grinned over at X, "you really are back, suweet!" His vision shifted to Zero, "Oh-ho," He chuckled, balling his hands into fists, "and Zero's here too." His battle hungry eyes shamelessly met Zero's stoic gaze, "So we going to fight with, or without weapons. You can use that sissy sword of yours, I don't mind giving you a handicap." His chuckling was interrupted when Leviathan punched him in the jaw, acting like she was yawning, "YOU FISH-FACED WOMAN, YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"

Leviathan eyed Fafnir, still looking tired, "Pipe down _little_ brother," Her frown turned into a cheeky grin, "us dignified people hate it when barbarians yell needlessly." Leviathan looked at X and bowed slightly, "I am glad to see you well Master X," She ignored his third sigh and looked at Zero, "Hi Zero," She sang, giggling when Ciel shot her a hard glare.

Phantom observed all this and shook his head slightly, "I feel ashamed to call you siblings," He faced X and kneeled on one knee, "Lord X, we are ready to do your bidding once more. It is an honor to serve under you once again sir."

X ran his hand down his face in frustration, "Look guys, I'm not the leader of the world anymore, so cool it. I'm just X, a regular Reploid who wants to protect the human race from harm."

Harpuia shook his head and mirrored Phantom's action, kneeling before X, "Whether you are known as the leader of Neo Arcadia or not, you will always be our leader." He met X's gaze when Leviathan and Fafnir kneeled also.

Zero shrugged and turned his back to the Four Guardians, "You look more like dogs from where I'm standing." He muttered and sat back down at the large conference table. He heard Magma Dragoon chuckle, joining Colonel in examining the Four Guardians.

"Pathetic," Magma Dragoon snorted, "it seems the quality of combat Reploids dropped after our generation." He easily met Fafnir's angered glare, standing when Fafnir marched up to him.

"You wanna go man!?" Fafnir slammed his forehead against Magma Dragoon's, the two Reploids looking like they were ready to kill eachother.

Colonel stood up and forcefully separated them, "That is enough out of the both of you," His gaze hardened when Magma Dragoon taunted Fafnir by blowing a puff of fire from his mouth, "Dragoon," He snapped to glare at Fafnir when he flipped Dragoon the bird, "ENOUGH!" He shoved them away from eachother. He looked down into the steady glare of Harpuia, his hands placed on both his blades.

"Watch your tone, only I will speak to my brother like that." Harpuia stepped up to Colonel, having to look upwards to meet his coal colored eyes.

Colonel balled his fists, but remained outwardly calm, "Now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves." He motioned to everyone else in the room, "We are in the middle of a crisis, and we are the only ones who can stop it. We must put aside our differences and fight together."

Harpuia's cold stare didn't warm, "I still don't like your tone."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" All eyes turned to X and Zero, wide with shock. The outburst was so unlike both the Reploids, but the amount of frustration and disappointment on their faces dispelled all feelings in the room. X glanced at Zero, the Crimson Hunter nodding towards him, "Colonel is right, fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help."

"We need to find out our enemy's plan, or we're all in trouble." Zero looked to the Four Guardians, "When you guys were in the Chosen Ones' possession, did you guys find out what they were after?"

The Guardians closed their eyes in thought as silence continued to hang over the room like a haze. Phantom was the one to speak, "They were heading for the Dead Sea. A fragment of Ouroboros landed there and damaged some kind of ancient lab."

Signas hummed to himself, everyone looking over to him. It wasn't too surprising for those who knew him. He became leader of the old Maverick Hunters when he had solved a mysterious case with his superior processing capability, "Why were they interested in some ancient lab?" He said this to himself, but everyone was thinking about this question.

"Something was down there." Leviathan looked up as she remembered something Atlus and Thetis discussed, "They needed something to unlock the lab, some type of signature."

"The lab is the source of the virus." Exillion suddenly spoke, "After hearing what Phantom said, I had my sensors focus on the general area of the Dead Sea. The Omega Virus is coming from the lab, there is no doubt."

Signas nodded, "That only leaves this 'signature' they needed. Atlus and Thetis were looking for this facility, so they needed something that was here." Everyone silently watched Signas as he pieced everything together. He folded his arms and closed his eyes, still processing everything they discussed. They knew this facility held the inanimate bodies of X, Zero, Dragoon, Colonel, and himself. He automatically crossed out Dragoon, Colonel, and himself. They really didn't hold much significance, but X and Zero have always been the roots of everything. Signas understood this, seeing how both Reploids seemed to possess a sort of 'Black Box' that separated them from other Reploids, "Seth," Signas looked back at the quiet researcher, "how exactly did you build X and Zero's new bodies?"

Seth thought deeply, trying to remember the process exactly, "Well, my ancestor was able to decipher at least a portion of the Black Box within X and Zero. This was when he made the first blue-prints for Exillion. I basically took the blueprints of said Black Box and tried to duplicate it. Of course, no one is able to copy Dr. Light's work exactly, seeing how he was a genius, but we came close."

"So it's not the original?" Zero asked.

Signas's eyes grew wide when Zero asked that question, "The Biometals." He knew everyone was giving him confused looks and decided to explain, "We need the signatures of the original bodies of X or Zero, more than likely Zero seeing how it's the Omega Virus. The name itself is a clue, seeing how the Guardians reported finding a Biometal with Omega's signature on it. Omega used Zero's original body, which was imprinted into Model W, but became Model O when it was excavated."

Everyone understood where Signas was going, "Find Model O," Harpuia started, "we have the signature we need."

"ACK!" All eyes turned to Zero, the crimson Reploid suddenly gripping his chest as he crashed to his knees. Red lines pulsed through his body, his eyes grew dark as black lines cracked the skin of his face. His hand left his chest and gripped the gem in his helmet, a white 'Z' appearing inside. Ciel was at his side in a heartbeat, supporting him as he continued to restrain his cries of pain.

"VENT!" X and Colonel were off running when they heard Aile's cry, rounding the corner into the hallway. They saw her standing in front of an open utility closet door, but her body's shaking clued them in as to what happened. Aile turned around, eyes frantic, "Vent, he went to the transerver!"

X's eyes grew in horror. He quickly slipped past Aile and through the utility closet, Aile and Colonel following close behind, "Vent," X roared, turning the corner. He froze when he saw Vent disappear in the transerver, wearing Model O, "VENT!"

The Dead Sea was an expansive lake, deemed unstable after the Elf Wars hundreds of years ago. The massive battle contaminated the lake beyond saving, thus it was left as a reminder of the past. The water appeared to be clean, blue and fresh. However, the stench of salt and bio-material said otherwise. The rocks around the lake were almost snow white, an acidic mist hanging just over the surface of the water. This was the scene Vent saw when he appeared just on the edge of the water, baring the armor of Model O.

"This place seems," He glanced around, "dead." He frowned slightly, "So where do I go from here?" He asked Model O, seeing how the voice in his head told him to come to these coordinates. He didn't know much about Model O, but it had done little to show it couldn't be trusted. Sure, its powers made it easy for him to lose control, but did that mean Model O was bad?

**Stop day-dreaming and walk across the water. There's enough salt in it that you can walk across.**

Vent gazed at the water strangely before awkwardly following what Model O told him. He honestly didn't know why he was being so obedient to Model O's orders. It was as if he actually... _wanted_ to do all these things. Going off on his own, defying orders and following his own instincts, taking power for himself and using it, all these things seemed to appeal to something deep inside of him. The rogue Chosen One ran across the surface of the dense water, sifting through the mist as he saw a strange outline through the fog. When he got closer, he saw that it was the entrance to some sort of tunnel.

Ice slowly melted from its edges as water also spilled out from pockets in the structure and back into the contaminated lake. Vent carefully entered the structure and looked around the walls in slight surprise. It reminded him of the Ouroboros, the same red lines pulsating through the walls and random screens with nothing really interesting on them, "What is this place?"

**The source of all our troubles boy. Inside is the very root of the problem, all you have to do is destroy it and you'll have more respect than you'll know what to do with.**

Vent hesitated for a second when he saw a large door with huge lock mechanisms on it. Like before, he could feel something deep inside him want, no it was _need_ in this case, to go inside. He approached the door and examined the mechanism. In seconds, he recognized it, it was identical to the one he used to open the remnants of Ragnarok back when he first became a Megaman. He gently touched the panel beside the door, following his instincts to do so.

_DNA signature recognized, lock system terminated_

Vent prepared himself when the locks turned with a loud hiss, steam shooting out of the entrance when it slowly slid open. The gate slid just enough for him to fit through before it got stuck, but Vent wasn't going to complain about it. He carefully stepped inside the underwater lab and jumped when the red lines of the wall turned green suddenly. Vent immediately felt power leave him as the now green lines raced ahead into the darkness of the lab.

Deep inside the dark lab, the green lines reached a part of the moldy building that was bathed in an eerie purple glow. The lines on the walls entered a complex mechanism on the ceiling before racing towards the floor. After going through this mechanism, the lines were now thicker and the hum of energy was now loud enough to hear. The green rays of energy entered a strange structure on the floor that was in the shape of a cross-like coffin, the source of the purple light on top of it.

Seconds ticked by after the green lines hit the coffin, the purple light flickering and rippling like water. As the purple fluid shifted and spilled out of the structure, a figure floated to the top of the purple goo, circuitry and raw internal parts left bare for the world to see. However, as the strange Reploid's body hit the open air, a skin-like substance covered the exposed parts and armor shielded his exposed chest and arms. His hands gripped the sides of the strange structure, head leaned forward as he pushed himself further out of the goo.

Long, silver hair cascaded down from his head and shielded his face from the view of any onlookers. His pale skin sharply contrasted the charcoal grey armor and pitch black suit that was underneath it. Suddenly, sensing the presence that appeared in the chamber, the Reploid's head snapped up, red eyes meeting shocked green orbs. This new being examined Vent carefully before ignoring him, finally freeing himself from the purple fluid that once bound him.

"Brilliant isn't he?" Vent snapped around to see Thomas, one of the last remaining Sage Trinity. He stood twice as tall as Vent, proudly placing the large sword of his just in front of him. His beard covered mouth was set in a strange smirk as he watched this strange Reploid adjust himself to the world of the functional.

Vent glared at the large Reploid, placing a hand on his beamsaber, "What are you doing here?"

Thomas waved him off and approached the newly awakened Reploid, "I came for this work of pure art. Developed by the great Doctor Wily, modified by the inspired Doctor Wile, and finally awakened to do his only purpose." Thomas was now close enough to lay a hand on the Reploid's shoulder, "He will recreate the world for me, allowing me to remake it into the perfect world of peace and harmony."

Vent drew his beamsaber with a furious sneer, "I won't let you do that!"

Thomas laughed, shooting him a glare over his broad shoulder, "What can a child like yourself do to stop me? Albert's power was nothing compared to mine, I was modeled to reincarnate the genius of Dr. Thomas Light himself, the true father of all Reploids!"

The lone Chosen One readied to attack Thomas, "You won't get away with it, I will stop you from remaking this world!"

"I agree," Thomas and Vent looked to the mysterious Reploid in utter shock and awe, "a disgusting creature like you has no right to remake this world." His crimson eyes flashed dangerously, paralyzing Thomas. The large Sage Trinity dropped to his knees, eyes wide and lifeless. He raised his hands, arms spread and eyes looking upwards, "However, I will allow you to participate by giving me all the knowledge you hold." He raised his hand, a series of pulsing green lines forming an 'M' in his palm.

Vent was horrified by what happened next. As soon as this awakened Reploid placed his hand on Thomas's forehead, it was like information was literally squeezed out of Thomas's head. The unknown Reploid took a deep breath and analyzed all the data he retrieved, snapping his eyes open once more when four familiar faces appeared in the chamber. Vent looked at the shocked faces of the other four Megamen once recruited by Albert. Atlus and Thetis were the only two who looked relatively unharmed, but Aeolus was still missing an arm and Siarnaq looked like he was put together with duck-tape.

"Master Thomas," Aeolus stepped forward and glared at the newly awakened Reploid when he tossed Thmoas's mindless body to the side, "you will pay for that."

"I see," He replied, "all four of you are Chosen Ones, people able to merge with... Biometal was it? I sense that the other Biometals are not present, so I will make you new ones." He offered them a hand, "Come with me, I will lead you to everlasting prosperity and peace." At these words, the four Chosen Ones gripped their heads as a splitting pain shot through their heads.

"What are you doing!?" Atlus roared, holding her head in pain while Thetis dropped to his knees.

Siarnaq held a hand to his own aching head as he tried to remain focused on the being in front of them, "WARNING, VIRUS HAS INFILTRATED MAIN NERVOUS SYSTEMS AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING CONTROL OF ALL MENTAL FUNCTIONS."

"Virus?" The Reploid looked partially insulted, "I do not emit a virus my confused friend, but a path to this world's rebirth. I am freeing your mind, not corrupting it." Hs eyes suddenly began to glow as light enveloped the four Chosen Ones, each crying out as their bodies were charged with a strange power. Slowly, the Reploid turned to Vent as the light faded, revealing the four Chosen Ones behind him, "You too child," He offered a hand to Vent, "help me build a brighter future for this wayward planet."

**A/N: Well, it seems the main villain is finally awake. I apologize for the frequent absences, time is a fickle thing these days. Anyway, we're going to see the main cast confront this foe next chapter, but not before tackling a few obstacles along the way. Who will be the first to see this Dark Messiah? Who will live long enough to tell the story? Until next time, please read and review!**


	8. 07

**A/N: Alrighty, nothing to say really other than to announce that the promo for this fic is available on Youtube under my account. Search for "Dark Messiah" or my username: Goldpen360. Now, on with the story.**

**07: Brothers of Fate**

"Alright, we're in." X looked around the abandoned lab. He looked back as Zero, Colonel, and Fafnir appeared behind him. They had decided to send out only the four of them and leave the others on standby. Originally, Fafnir was to be held back so he could get used to his body, but the boisterous Reploid wasn't having it. X made eye contact with his three other companions, "Zero and I will take point, Colonel, you, and Fafnir watch our six."

With that, the four-man squad started into the facility. The cold and damp surroundings added an edge to their already alert senses, and the pulsing purple lines did little to settle their nerves. After a few minutes of careful advancement, the four Reploids came up to a large door that was slightly ajar, "Careful, this could be a trap." Zero approached the door and kicked it further open. X and Fafnir raised their busters in case something charged at them, but nothing came.

"Che," Fafnir clicked his tongue and walked into the next chamber, "this place is completely empty." He took another look around and scowled. With a growl of anger, he kicked the wall of the tunnel and started to blindly fire his busters, "This is already PISSING ME OFF!"

From deep within the chamber, the newly awakened Reploid looked into the darkness and towards the foreign sounds, "More intruders," He calmly turned to a flat panel and placed his hand on the cool surface, "I have no interest in violence." The panel came to life and the purple lines of light grew more intense. He watched the lines disappear in the darkness and returned to what he was doing, "Such noise."

Coincidentally, the ones back at the base were feeling the same way. Everyone was watching the monitor with some sort of expression on their faces, save for Phantom and Exilion of course. They watched as Fafnir went on a trigger-happy fit, X fruitlessly trying to calm him down, "How shameful." Magma Dragoon was the only one smirking at the scene.

"That fire-brained muscle-head!" Leviathan growled at the screen, "He's making a complete fool of himself! It wouldn't matter if it didn't make the rest of us look bad!" Leviathan opened the communication channel, leaning over a shocked Alia's shoulder, "Hey block-head, put the effin safety on and cool it!"

Fafnir froze and glared into space, "Get her away from the communicator or I'll blow this place SKY HIGH!" Regardless, Fafnir turned on the safety and started deeper into the facility, "Che, yell at a guy for having a bit of fun." Everything seemed to slow down as the floor came out from under Fafnir, a large hand snatching him up in mid-air, "What the-!" He never finished as he was slammed into the wall by a massive Mechanaloid.

Zero and the others rushed over to Fafnir as the large Mechanaloid's form was revealed through a pulse of purple light. It looked like the Golems once used by Neo Arcadia, but sleeker and colored black. Its yellow eyes blinked to life as it let out a mechanical roar of some kind. The beast raised its arms and readied the claws on either of its hand, ready to lash out.

"Alia, what is this thing!?" X charged his buster and fired a test shot, but the powerful blast left a small mark on the sleek armor. He stiffled a curse when the giant slammed its fist into the ground, barely missing him. X rolled away from the beast and fired off a few small bursts, searching for a weak point.

Back at the base, Alia was searching through every database she could get her hands on, "There's no information on it, I don't know what it is." She looked up to the monitor with a panicked expression, "X, Zero, please be careful!"

In the dark hallway, Zero and Colonel switched positions with X when he dragged Fafnir back behind them. Colonel swiftly disappeared and reappeared above the machine's head, saber raised. He growled and brought the saber down, but the beast blocked with its arm. Colonel skillfully jumped away from the large machine before it could fling him into the wall, "This isn't getting us anywhere, Iris," He kept his eyes on the Mechanaloid as the purple Cyber Elf poked her head out from behind his collar, "can you see any weak-points?"

Iris stared at the giant as it went after Zero and X. She lightly bit her lip and shook her head, "I'm sorry brother," She looked to Colonel with heavy concern, "I can't sense anything."

Colonel nodded and looked back to the large machine as Iris slipped back into his collar, "HQ," Colonel pressed a hand to his communicator, "any ideas? We're blind here unless we can get a weakness."

"Copy that." Alia sighed and looked to the others gathered around the computers, "We have a problem, they've encountered an enemy with thick armor plating, they can't find a weakness." Everyone seemed to look to the screen with concern, save for Ciel and the remaining three Generals.

"Transfer me," Harpuia stepped forward in determination, "my sensors will be able to identify the weakness, just get me close enough."

Alia looked at Ciel, "Do you think it will work?"

The blonde scientist nodded her confidence, "Harpuia's sensors were designed for this type of situation, Phantom would also work, but Harpuia is the best choice for the job." Ciel smiled at the stoic Reploid. She had given up any form of resentment or fear years ago, she did design Model H after him.

"Let me go too!" Everyone looked behind them to see Aile staring right up at them. She saw Signas prepare to refuse but cut him off, "Vent is my partner," She looked down slightly, "my best friend." She looked back up with a flame of determination in her eyes, "He's in trouble and I can't just sit here and wait for someone else to save him." She held up Models X and Z, now lifeless, "I promised someone who was like an older brother to us that I'd protect him, and I know he would do the same if our roles were switched."

Once again, Signas was ready to rebuttal, but Phantom stopped him, "Let her go." Everyone was shocked by what he had said, "Her spirit is strong, she will more than likely help more so than anything."

Aile gently smiled at the usually silent Reploid, "Phantom,"

Harpuia stared down at Aile for a few moments before turning back to Alia, "She'll come, I'll need someone to watch my back just in case."

Alia turned back to the computer and started typing furiously, "Alright Harpuia, by the time you get situated in the transerver, I'll have the coordinates set up. As soon as you arrive, get to X and the others as fast as you can." Her eyes scanned the monitors with legendary concentration, "X, come in."

The blue bomber rolled past another attempt to smash him and pressed his hand to his helmet, "X here, go ahead Alia." He peppered the giant with weak buster shots to try and keep it occupied.

"We're sending in Harpuia, his sensors should be able to identify a weakness." Alia finished typing and prepared to press the transport button, "X, I haven't told the others but our sensors here are picking up a massive surge of energy, please be careful." The worry for his safety as evident in her voice.

X nodded and looked at Zero and Fafnir fighting the large machine, "Understood, I'll keep an eye on everything." He ended the transmission and charged his buster. Once again, he let loose a large blast of plasma. The charged shot slammed into the back of the large beast, and like before, it didn't leave a scratch. It turned and glared at him, its yellow eyes meeting his green ones, "From bad to worse." X muttered and tried to dodge yet another swing of the large mechaniloid's arm.

Meanwhile, just outside the entrance, Harpuia and Aile appeared. He landed in a crouched position and stared forward, examining the path ahead. He scowled ever so slightly at the sight of unknown enemies standing in his way. They greatly resembled Pantheon Aces with the wings of their jet-packs folded down. However, they were vastly more advanced, because when they spotted him, they disappeared completely, "Stealth," Harpuia drew his swords and looked back at Aile, "stay close."

Aile was a bit put off by his tone and aimed her buster. She fired off a few rounds and smirked when one of the enemies dropped dead behind Harpuia, "Same to you." She drew her saber and followed Harpuia when he dashed forward. Aile watched in slight amazement as Harpuia seamlessly cut down numerous stealth footsoldiers without missing a beat, "Wow,"

"Praetorians," Harpuia suddenly looked back at her. When he saw the confused look he was getting, the green Reploid mentally sighed, "They're called Praetorians."

"Oh," Aile scratched the back of her head in slight embarrassment, "how can you tell?"

Harpuia fought the urge to roll his eyes, "Did you forget already?" He slightly glared at her, "I can identify an enemy after attacking them."

"Oh yeah," She looked off to the side, "Vent and I never really used Model HX all that much so I forgot." Aile flinched when Harpuia sent one of his 'I'd skewer you if we weren't on the same side' glares her way, "Well sorry, it's just that LX gave us a cool spear, PX was like fighting as a ninja, and FX gave us some sickly large guns." Aile shrugged meekly, "I mean you let us fly and all but... we never really fought with your Model."

Harpuia extended his boosters and pivoted on his heel, "Children," He snorted, "they show little respect. To think," His face drooped into a very unfamiliar scowl-slash-pout, "they enjoyed Fafnir's muscle-brained design better than mine." He dashed forward at impressive speeds, Aile yelling after him as she followed.

Deep within the abandoned lab, the awakened Reploid was looking down at an intricate lock system. It was a series of gears, thick wires, and powerful locks that utilized pressured air and the traditional system. His eyes were currently focused on a terminal that was placed at the center of the large lock, "What do you think my friend?" He glanced back at the boy behind him, "Shall we begin the renewal of this lost world?" He raised his hand to place his palm on the terminal, but stopped just before he touched it. His stoic face dropped ever so slightly, "More intruders, and useless ones at that." He gently placed his palm on the terminal and waited patiently. He looked down and saw a screen blink to life, the word 'Cero' showing on the display.

The tremor that followed was felt even where X and the others were battling their unknown giant. Zero stumbled and looked deeper into the dark hallway with a solid sneer, "What is going on in this place!?" He kept a lingering eye on the ceiling, the last thing they needed was the place coming down like the lab he was sealed in. He ducked under Colonel when he was thrown back by the machine's large fist and glanced between its legs, "It's about time."

X followed his gaze and saw Harpuia rocketing in, both of his Sonic Blades drawn. He wasted no time with getting to work, slashing at the giant's arm when he tried to smash Zero with it. His sensors immediately went to work and started feeding him data on the enemy, "Sentinel," His eyes widened slightly, "it's very similar to our Golems of Neo Arcadia. Aim for the mouth or head."

Fafnir snorted loudly, "Like we haven't tried numb-nuts," Fafnir fired both Sodom and Gammorah at the Sentinel's head and watched them bounce off, "SEE!?" He leaned against the wall and raised his hand. He extended his thumb and pointed it downwards, "You sir, fail to an epic level."

Harpuia rolled his eyes at his brother and surged forward. As he predicted, the Sentinel tried to smash him, but he jumped over it and drove one of his Sonic Blades through its hand, pinning it to the floor. Fluidly, he moved to the other side of the beast and pinned its other hand, "Watch," He stood up and waited for the Sentinel to realize it couldn't use its hands. When it did, its mouth opened to reveal a cannon.

"NOT SO FAST UGLY!" A large buster shot hit the Sentinel's mouth as a streak of red shot over Harpuia's head. The Sentinel staggered, smoke pouring out of its mouth as electricity spewed from its body. A strange groaning noise escaped the Sentinel before it dropped to the floor, lifeless. X and the others looked with mouths agape, save for Harpuia... and Zero... and Colonel. X and Fafnir stared with mouths hanging open. Aile let out a sigh of relief and glared at Harpuia, "Are you nuts, what if I was just a second off my timing!?"

X opened and closed his mouth like a fish before pointing at Aile, "W-What are you doing here!?"

"Pfft," Fafnir waved the issue off, "more importantly, HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" He pointed an accusing finger at none other than Harpuia. Nobody saw it, but Harpuia shot him a small, triumphant smirk.

Harpuia and Colonel started their advance, not too interested in the coming exchange, "My honor has been restored." Harpuia muttered to himself, still smirking triumphantly.

* * *

"The world is a filthy place." Cero sat in a large throne-like chair and stared at the table in front of him. He was currently in a room filled with monitors and displays, a holographic image of the Earth shown just before him. He ran a finger through the hologram and watched the image flicker like a flame, "Greed, famine, cruelty, lust, all of it is filth that stains this world." He sat back in his throne and looked up at the dark ceiling of tangled pipes and wires, "It is out of this filth that madmen are born. Wile, Sigma, Vile, and even my great father Dr. Wily. But it is my father who developed a way to end all this anarchy that rules this world." Cero looked to his right and at the lone figure accompanying him, "He created my brother and I to lead this world to prosperity."

"Prosperity through recreating this world from scratch?" Cero looked up to see the five intruders approach him in the large room. X glared at him with a mixture of pity and disappointment, "Why is it that people like you think you can do good through destruction?"

Cero stood up and looked at the group carefully. Finally, his eyes stopped on Zero, "Why brother," He registered Zero's shock, "I almost didn't recognize you, with your being in a fake vessel and all." He completely ignored X's comment and focused his attention on the Crimson Hunter, "Do you remember me?"

Zero answered his question by drawing his Z-Saber, "I think I'd remember an ugly face like yours." Everyone was shocked by his words, seeing how Cero shared that same facial features as Zero. The only difference between the two was the armor color, eyes, and hair.

The black Reploid slightly frowned and sighed, "I see, I feared the data was true." He offered his hand to Zero, "It seems you were infected by your own virus." Cero smirked down at his brother, "Come brother, let me lift your virus so that you may see."

"For starters," Zero growled, "I am not your brother." He spat, "Second, you should worry about curing yourself after we're done with you." He spoke this very calmly, something that made Aile freeze for a split second.

Cero raised his other hand and sat down in his throne, "Brother, Zero, do you not remember why Dr. Wily created us?" He didn't leave the question open to answer, "He created us to destroy him." He pointed to X, "We were created to stop this madness from even happening, this madness that has engulfed the world since the birth of the first of our kind."

"What are you talking about?" Aile stared at Cero in confusion, "Just tell us what you did with Vent!"

The dark brother of Zero ignored Aile's demand, "Do you not see brother? History will tell us that Dr. Light was the only one who wanted peace between men and Reploid kind and our father was nothing but a madman! I say this is not so." He slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, "Thanks to the ideology of Dr. Light and X, ruin has come to the world multiple times. Not to mention when he finally reached the position to give this planet peace and harmony." Cero now looked to X with an expression of disgust and disappointment, "And what does his reign bring? An even darker era of war and oppression."

Aile smirked, "Whatever, let him have it X." She looked back at the blue bomber and felt her stomach drop. X was staring wide-eyed at Cero, "X?"

"That's hardly the whole truth!" Zero stepped forward, angered by Cero's verbal assault, "The world spun out of control thanks to your 'great father's' brilliant virus that he put in my head!" Zero pointed his Z-Saber at Cero, "If it weren't for our existence, the world wouldn't even be in ruin."

The only human in the group was on the verge of falling to her knees. This blew her away on so many levels. Ever since she was a child, X and Zero were the greatest heroes of all time. Sure, nobody actually spoke their names, but it was always understood. Now, she was hearing them blame themselves for the world's past troubles. X is so obviously torn apart from his failures as the former leader of the world and Zero bears the weight of all this catastrophe on his shoulders, "X, Zero," Aile muttered their names and looked to Harpuia and Colonel. Harpuia held no expression on his face, but his eyes told her that he too felt guilt. Colonel was literally unreadable, but the faint whimper of Iris showed how she felt, "No way guys," She looked at all of them in disbelief, "you guys can't seriously believe that all of the things that have led to this point are your fault."

"All of us," Fafnir solemnly spoke, "all of us bear blame for the scars of Earth." His expression was as sober as anyone has seen him, "Our hands are stained with the blood of innocence, the fires of chaos and injustice."

Cero leaned on his propped hand and hummed to himself, "But it is because you, brother," His tone was biting, "that the virus was released in such a sloppy way. Your virus was supposed to remain under your control, only effecting those who could not stay in our new world. After you weeded them out, I was to awaken and create this world anew."

"NO," Aile had heard enough of this, "you can't just throw people out like trash, like some kind of object! Life is too precious for that." Aile looked down at the floor, "Giro, Giro taught that to Vent and me. He could've left us to die, but he took care of us and protected us." Aile looked to the hologram of Earth, "He died so we could save this world of ours, I refuse to believe his sacrifice was in vain!"

BANG BANG BANG

A volley of buster shots rocketed towards Cero, "Enough talk already!" Fafnir roared, "Whether our sins stain us or not, I won't let this freak destroy everything!"

Cero remained still, an automatic shield blocking the shots from Fafnir's cannons, "Word only spoken by a true piece of filth." His eyes snapped to his left and he sprang out of his seat, Zero's Z-Saber barely missing him. Before he knew it, Zero, Colonel, and Harpuia were trying to cut him down. Cero ducked, weaved, and deflected the attacks without fluidity and efficiency. He suddenly feigned right and slid under two buster shots from X and Aile. Unfortunately, this put him right under Fafnir.

With a howl, the red Reploid plummeted towards Cero, ready to ram Sodom and Gammorah through the Dark Messiah. However, Cero grabbed both cannons right in front of the barrel and took the attack. It didn't do a thing to him, "I have seen enough." His armor parted at the shoulders and thighs, a bubble of violet energy forming around him. Fafnir let out a scream of pain as the energy tore through him, throwing him back towards the door. Cero deactivated the attack and looked at the remaining intruders, "Our time has not yet come my brothers of fate," Cero calmly walked over to his throne and pressed a button, "Until next time."

"Hold it!" Aile raised her buster, but a shadow overhead made her roll to the side. She pivoted and aimed her weapon, but froze when she saw who it was. Before her, still crouched after his failed attempt to cut her in half, was Vent in Model O, "V-Vent?" Aile gasped in disbelief, "Vent what are you doing!?" She drew her saber just in time to parry Vent's strike, but the sheer force threw her back, "Knock it off Vent, get a hold of yourself!"

Zero snarled at Cero, his Z-Saber clashing with Cero's shield, "What did you do to him!?"

Cero, still having his back to everyone, glanced back, "I merely released his mind." He pressed another button, his body and Vent becoming enveloped in light.

Aile stood up on shaky legs, "Vent," She whispered, a weak smile on her face, "Vent come on, this is a joke right?" Her face faltered when Vent coldly stared back at her. His once vibrant emerald eyes were a dull crimson, lifeless and distant, "Come on Vent, please don't do this." Her voice cracked, but she immediately caught herself and regained composure, "Please." She reached out to touch him, but just before she did, he was gone.

Zero growled when Cero disappeared from in front of him, teleported out by some sort of device, "Crap, where did they go!?" He slammed his fist into the terminal on the chair, smashing the lifeless device in frustration.

**A/N: An emotional encounter and a battle of logic and philosophy. Well, I know this chapter was very info heavy so I'll try and clear some up. Basically, Cero's argument is that X's methods of achieving peace isn't working, and X and the others argue against his controlling of mankind to achieve peace. This idea came up when I noticed the dark philosophy within the Megaman series. Anyone interested in hearing it in depth, feel free to e mail me, otherwise, please read and review! Oh and don't forget the trailer is up!**


	9. 08

**A/N: Well, I have nothing to say other than thanks to all the readers and reviewers. I really appreciate the attention. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**08: We All Have Scars**

A gloom settled in over the underground facility. Our heroes, both new and recently reawakened, felt a lack of moral. X had closed himself up in the library, reading up on subjects both important and not so much. Zero drowned himself in simulations to take out his frustrations in silence. Likewise, everyone else found ways to simply wait for Cero's next move. That is what caused the sense of gloom amongst them: it was now a waiting game. Ciel, Prairie, Marian, Seth, Alia, and even Exilion were searching vigurously for some sort of clue as to where Cero had disappeared to, as well as Vent.

"Got any two's?"

"Go fish,"

The betrayal of Vent hit some the hardest. The older Reploids didn't really know Vent that well, so the effects didn't run deep. Prairie obviously felt bad about the issue, she considered Vent a dear friend and cherished subordinate. The other members of the Guardians didn't take the news well either. A mixture of anger and sadness washed over them when they heard that Cero had taken control of Vent. Surprising to some, X had taken hard as well. No matter how you cut it, X is a tender-hearted Reploid at his center. He always cared for humans and any living thing for that matter, even to the point of being considered a whining child. He tried to avoid speaking with anyone on the matter by burying his nose in the books. Alia doubted he was even reading them after she saw a growing stack of books on the desk he was seated at.

"Any Aces?"

"I hate this game,"

Out of everyone around, Aile, Grey, and Ashe took it the hardest. Over their times together being Chosen Ones, they had grown into a tight foursome. Grey saw Vent as a good friend, but Ashe looked up to him a bit more since he helped her specifically. The two mercenaries looked up to Vent and Aile as a pair, perhaps even admired how well they got along. It was because of their bond that Aile took Vent's turn the hardest. As soon as she had returned from the abandoned laboratory, she went straight to the sleeping area and locked herself in a room.

"Got any tens?"

"Nope, go fish Grey,"

"Darn it all!"

Ashe had tried to talk to her and coax her out, but it didn't end very well. Heck, they were desperate enough to give Grey a try. It was an awkward conversation between the two with only five words exchanged. Ashe kind of felt sorry for Grey after seeing how bad he was in these types of situations. Their last resort was Model A. Surprisingly, the small device got a weak laugh out of Aile, but didn't convince her to come out.

"Do you have any threes?" Grey looked up to Ashe and saw her give him a cheeky grin.

"Go," She dramatically dragged it out, "fish." She laughed as Grey growled darkly, taking a card from the pile in-between them. Call them strange, but they had been positioned in front of Aile's door since Model A got her to laugh. They slept there, took turns going to the bathroom, and even ate in front of the door. It was definitely awkward, but it was their way of showing silent support for their friend.

Grey threw up his hands and folded. With a sour expression, he shuffled the deck and mumbled to himself about how stupid card-games were, "I'm so bored." He finally sighed and laid back. He stared at the ceiling with his expression still sour. His vision shifted to the side when he saw Ashe poke her head into his line of sight, now looming over him.

Her expression was filled with playful mockery as she grinned down at him, "Oh come on Grey, you're not seriously mad about a card game are you?" As the seconds ticked by, her grin slowly faded into a look of concern, "Grey?"

"It's not right," The silver-haired Reploid quietly stated, "how could Vent be controlled so easily? From what X and the others said, he wasn't even fighting it." His expression was now stoic, but his eyes told of his battle between feeling angry, or depressed.

Ashe looked down at him with a soft look, knowing what he meant. She sat down beside him and looked at the wall, "I know, but... there's no way Vent would willingly be controlled, we just have to have faith in him." The pair remained silent for a few minutes, reflecting and simply absorbing the weight of their situation.

"Hey, hey, hey," A familiar voice echoed from Model A when he levitated out of Ashe's pocket, "why the long faces? Sitting here moping around won't solve anything."

"What else can we do?" Came Grey's solemn reply.

Model remained silent in thought before floating back in forth as if pacing, "Well, we could try and get one step ahead of Cero." He turned to the two Chosen Ones. "Think about it, if every big-brained, egotistical bad guy had their hands in this plan, who haven't we investigated?"

Ashe and Grey locked eyes and thought about the question. Then, all of a sudden, a name appeared in their minds, "ALBERT!" They both yelled at once. Their gloom was replaced by determination as they shot up and ran to talk to Alia and the others.

"Hey," Model A shot after them in surprise, "wait for me guys!"

On the other side of the base, X was vigorously flipping through every book he could get his hands on. He managed to find a few research passages on the shield Cero had used and a few theories written by Seth's ancestor. Cero had utilized a new form of Particle Manipulation, the same system that kept the Z-Saber charged. The difference was that Cero has the system integrated in his body and can freely manipulate the flow of energy particles around him. Outdoors, he could draw energy particles from sunlight, and use energy particles given off by generators indoors. It was an ingenious system, no doubt produced by Wile.

"Working hard?" The door to the library suddenly opened to reveal Alia, two mugs of coffee in hand. She gently set the steaming mug down in front X, trying to avoid the towers of books around his workspace, "How's everything coming?"

X reached for the mug and took a few sips, keeping his eyes on the book the whole time, "It's going. I've barely made any headway in terms of finding information on Cero. All the researchers of the past merely knew he existed, nothing specific." He went to turn the page, but Alia's hand quickly stopped him, "What is it?" He still had yet to look at her.

The blonde held X's hand firmly and set her mug down to free her other hand, "X," She gently started, "X look at me." She carefully turned his head to face her and looked at him with a tender stare, "Stop doing this to yourself. You did this very thing before when you finished Neo Arcadia." She watched his expressionless face fall ever so slightly and his emerald eyes looked away from her in partial shame. "X, talk to me," She enveloped him in a snug hug, "what's wrong?" She waited for an answer but didn't get one, "Please, please tell me what's wrong."

Her gentle prodding finally got to X as his shoulders drooped and his eyes dropped to look at the floor, "I don't want to fail again." He led Alia into his lap and held her for some sort of security, "I failed the world when it needed me most Alia. I allowed my own weakness to lead me away from what I was truly made to do."

Alia simply listened to X as he spoke, frowning slightly at his tone. She remembered many nights when X would bury himself in work and wouldn't speak to her. The few times he did express himself, he always spoke in a tone that lacked self confidence. It had started out small, but grew as the years went by.

"I'm weak Alia." X heard her gasp quietly at the statement, "I am. I ran into the position of leading the world with so much enthusiasm, but as soon as Zero left, I fell apart. Without people around me, I can't stand. Zero was the true hero of this world, not me."

Alia's eyes shot open at those familiar words. Her grip on X increased greatly as she shakily spoke all of a sudden, "Don't," She barked, "don't leave again X." She felt herself lose her senses as she panicked. He had said those exact words before he used his body to strengthen the seal on Mother Elf. He had done it while she was away at a research facility, but she remembered the look he gave her before she left. It was a distant and sad look, filled with remorse and a tinge of exhaustion. She didn't know it at the time, but she was looking at an X she'd never seen before. She had been looking at an X that had given up, "Don't leave me alone again."

X was taken back by her sudden change in persona. Alia was hardly a sensitive woman, he often thought her a cold researcher when it came to his work. Seeing her suddenly cling to him like this was shocking, but he slowly began to piece it together. He felt even more terrible than before when he figured out what she was referring to, "Alia," He started to apologize but decided against it. The word 'sorry' wouldn't do it. Alia liked it better when X would tell her what was wrong, show he understood, "We all have scars and injuries we bare." He slowly spoke as he returned Alia's embrace, "I never did consider how hurt you were when I sealed myself, the wound I left in your heart. I promise Alia," X placed his chin on her head, "I will never abandon you like that. I promise."

The solemn scene did not go unnoticed by a certain person at the door to the library. She blinked in surprise and turned around to leave, "I'll come back later." Prairie sighed and took off her pink Guardian's hat. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair and looked down at the floor as she walked back to the central control room. "Oh," She gasped when she ran into a large mass and stumbled backwards. A strong hand steadied her and gave a gentlemanly apology.

"I'm sorry," It was a deep voice with a European accent, "I wasn't watching where I was going." The owner of the voice was Colonel himself. He slightly bowed his head and turned to continue down the hallway, but Prairie quickly took hold of his white coat.

"Wait," She paused at her own outburst and froze when Colonel's steady eyes met hers, "could we um," She suddenly felt small under his stoic stare, "could we talk?" She felt nervous when Colonel simply stared at her, "I-I know it's sudden and we don't know each other very well, but... I really need to talk to somebody. Ciel is busy watching over Zero as he fights in the simulators, Leviathan and Phantom are on a recon assignment, Fafnir is busy arm-wrestling Dragoon, and Harpuia is in the middle of a game of chess against Signas." Prairie finally took a breath, "Please?"

Colonel stared down at Prairie with a blank face. He saw her falter and release him, beginning to walk away from him. It was strange, but he soon found himself stopping her. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk here, or somewhere else." He apologized again and felt himself wish for Iris's presence. The small Cyber Elf flew off to find a place to rest, leaving him alone for a time.

Prairie's face gently lightened in appreciation, "Oh, I thought you didn't want to talk." She pointed to an empty room and led him inside, "We can talk in here."

Colonel uncomfortably entered the room and watched Prairie sit down on a crate. They were in a well lit storage closet, a prime location for misunderstandings to arise.

"So what do you think of the situation so far?" Prairie fiddled with her hat in her lap and stared down at it. She laughed a bit and continued to mess with the accessory absentmindedly, "I don't think I can take much more of all this. Things just seem to go from bad to worse." Her eyes stung as she waited for Clonel to say something. After a long stretch of silence, Prairie laughed at herself, "You probably think I'm an idiot for feeling like this. I mean, you experienced some of the worst times of in our history. The Maverick Wars were probably ten times worse than this."

Colonel, once again, strangely felt bad for not saying anything. "I apologize." For the third time, Colonel expressed his regrets, "I'm not... good at these types of things." He saw Prairie look up at him in confusion and looked away, hiding his eyes with the beak of his hat. It was really weird for him, but Colonel felt shame at what he was about to say, "I was built... for the sole purpose of fighting and leading. That is why my name is Colonel. Iris, my sister, is supposed to act as my sense of compassion and emotion."

"I see," Prairie looked down slightly and felt bad for putting him in this position, "if this is too awkward for you, you can leave." She offered him a way out, but he did not leave her alone, "Colonel?"

The renewed Repliforce officer steeled himself, "I may not know much about compassion, or how to comfort someone Miss Prairie," Colonel looked up at her with his usual stoic expression, "but I know that I cannot leave a friend alone when she needs help." He seemed to think for a few seconds before speaking again, "If you won't mind, you can simply talk while I listen."

The Guardian Commander didn't know what to say to Colonel after he had said that. Despite his confession of being nothing more than a fighting machine, he had offered he the exact comfort she was looking for. She felt her admiration for Colonel grow as he patiently waited for her to start venting, "Thank you Colonel, that would be perfect." Prairie felt her spirits lift slightly when she saw Colonel give her very tiny smile. "I don't really know where to start, or where to end for that matter." Prairie's expression dropped slowly as her thoughts returned to the Chosen Ones. "It's my fault those two are involved in the first place you know. I dragged them into our fight, all because Giro thought they could do it. Some leader I am huh?" She sniffed and wiped tear from her eyes, "Now look at them. Vent is God knows where, probably doing something that will haunt him for the rest of his life and Aile is an emotional wreck. It was hard enough to deal with them when Giro died, especially since I had my own heartache to get over." She buried her head in her hands as she finally lost her will to hold back her tears, "When I got a glimpse of her face when they got back from that lab, I saw all the sorrow she carries now."

Colonel folded his arms and leaned back on the wall behind him, "She was trying to hold it in, but even I could tell she was hurting."

"I recognized the look immediately. She's such a strong girl," Prairie laughed weakly and continued to wipe her eyes, "but this hurt her to the heart, I know it. She saw someone so close to her under the control of another serious psychopath."

Colonel found himself interested at this, "I'm judging this happened before."

Prairie nodded slowly, "Yes, that's how Giro died. He raised Vent and Aile when they lost their parents. To see her go through this again, and to know it's my fault, it's too much for me to take." Prairie continued to cry under the calm watch of Colonel. The pink clad Guardian let out her frustrations and pains while finding comfort in the presence of the old Reploid.

In the central control room, the mood was little better. Though no tears were being shed, the occupants of the room all felt the weight of gloom on their shoulders. Ciel sighed heavily and continued to type away on the computer, glancing at the large screen to her right. It was a display that was showing Zero as he ran through the simulators. She often had to tear her eyes away from the monitor to get some work done. She couldn't help it, Zero was already on his third run of the simulator's various stages. Though he showed little signs of fatigue, he was obviously troubled, "Oh Zero," Ciel sighed again, "why can't you talk out your troubles like normal people?"

"Cause then I'd call him a pansy!" Fafnir yelled as he continued to struggle against Dragoon's arm. They had been locked in a near even arm-wrestling match for the past hour with no winner in clear sight, "Che, if Zero went sentimental on us, I'd put a hole in him myself."

Ciel ignored Fafnir and continued to watch Zero rip trough packs of holographic enemies. "He hasn't changed a bit."

"Would you have it any other way?" Signas tore his concentration from the chess board. "Zero was always the type to carry his problems on his own shoulders. It's just his way. He'll talk when he feels he has no other choice. No sooner, no later." He moved a knight piece and looked to his opponent, "Your move Harpuia."

The room fell into silence as everyone focused on what they were doing once more. Nothing else was heard in the room other than Ciel's typing, the hum of the computers, and the occasional grunt as Fafnir and Dragoon continued to battle it out with sheer muscle. The silence, however, was shattered when Grey and Ashe rushed into the room and started for the Transerver, "Ciel," Ashe looked across the large room and towards the blonde, "can you set the Transerver for Albert's Lab, we think we might find something if we go."

"I'll handle it," Marian smoothly descended the stairs to the elevator and started for the computer next to Ciel, "I'll monitor your progress, just be careful." She stopped to look down at the person sleeping to her right. Her face arranged into one of disapproval and she coughed loudly, "AHEM, Mr. Seth, if you are quite done sleeping, your scheduled Board Meeting will be taking place in one hour." She produced a few index cards from the clipboard she always carried around. "I took the liberty of writing down everything you'll need, use the hour to go over your data and clean yourself up."

Seth rolled his eyes with a weak smirk, "Thank you Marian," He took the cards and started shuffling through them, "I don't know what I'd do without you." He spotted Ashe and Grey near the Transerver and gave them a confused look, "What are you two up to?"

Marian slightly glared at his flippant reaction to the Board Meeting, but answered all the same. "They plan on going to investigate Albert's Lab, I will be handling their communications until Miss Alia is available again."

The tired CEO looked at the eager Chosen and nodded, "Why not take Exillion along with you, never know what might happen." He looked around for the white Reploid and finally spotted him cleaning his beamsaber and buster, "Exillion, get your weapons together and go with them to the lab."

"Understood," Exillion quickly reassembled his gear and placed them in their proper holsters. In seconds, the trio was loaded onto the Transerver and awaited transport.

Marian quickly typed in the coordinates and warmed up the Transerver, "Get ready for transfer in three, two, one, transfer." She activated the Transerver and watched as the trio was teleported to the abandoned lab of the deceased Sage Trinity.

Seth quickly adjusted his tie and suit-coat while he rushed for the elevator to take him back up to the main building, "Well, I'm off. Notify me if anything happens."

"Where's the meeting going to take place?" Ciel continued to type, but couldn't stop her curiosity from getting the best of her.

Seth looked over his shoulder as the elevator doors prepared to close, "Same place all of Biotech's Board Meetings take place, the Sky Lagoon II."

**A/N: Short and heavy again. The action will be back next chapter and with a bang at that, but I wanted to do a bit of character development this chapter. Megaman is a depressing game when you think about what the characters must feel during the games. Well at any rate, please drop a review and tell me if you like the Colonel Prairie stuff.**


	10. 09

A/N: Well, another chapter and another announcement for you guys. Don't worry, it's good news! I plan on doing the main part of this story in classic Megaman fashion. I'll develop the members of the Earth Reconstruction Army, ERA, and introduce them like they were done in the Megaman X games. I'll post this video on Youtube when it's done so keep an eye out for it! Thanks for reading and reviewing peoples, I greatly enjoy the encouraging words and the advice.

09: Stage Select

Seth quickly adjusted his tie and suit-coat while he rushed for the elevator to take him back up to the main building, "Well, I'm off. Notify me if anything happens."

"Where's the meeting going to take place?" Ciel continued to type, but couldn't stop her curiosity from getting the best of her.

Seth looked over his shoulder as the elevator doors prepared to close, "Same place all of Biotech's Board Meetings take place, the Sky Lagoon II." With a dull hiss, the elevator closed and ascended to the higher levels, leaving behind a quiet room.

All eyes went to the table where Fafnir and Magmard Dragoon sat, shocked by the loud bang that rang out after Seth said where he was going. Fafnir stared down at his arm, now slammed into the table and lying amongst the cracked surface. "Hey, what's the deal man!?" Fafnir snarled and glared up to Dragoon, but froze when he saw the look on his face. The usually reserved Reploid now had a look of horror on his face, slightly pale with shaky eyes, "Uh, Dragoon?"

Signas stood up and made his way to the veteran Reploid. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him, "Dragoon!" Signas's powerful bark snapped him out of his daze, his pale face slowly returning its normal color.

Everyone save for Signas stared at Dragoon in curiosity, silently asking what had happened. Magmard shook his head and took a deep breath, "Nothing, it was nothing. Just some ghosts that's all." He turned in his seat and looked down in meditation. His instincts were telling him something, but he couldn't place it. No, that was wrong. He did know what it was he was feeling: dread. He refused to believe what he was sensing and resorted to remaining silent.

Marian lingered on the subject for a few moments before returning to the monitors in front of her. She had a job to do first and foremost. "Ashe, Grey, Exillion, are you in?"

"Yeah, we're here." Ashe stood in front of the still demolished bridge behind her and looked to the waterfall to her left. The moon shone high in the sky as it always seem to do, casting a somewhat beauty on the location, "I always did think this place held a charm." She instinctively looked to Grey and frowned at his sour expression. Realization hit her and Ashe immediately felt bad, "Grey, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking that time."

Grey shrugged and spun his pistol, "No different than any other time. Let's see if we can find anything." He started in without another thought, but obviously dreading this particular lab. Exillion looked between the two before following Grey. Whatever that was about, he felt it was little of his business.

Ashe felt her heart drop slightly at his passing comment. Though they often fought, it was all in friendly humor. This time, however, she knew he was slightly serious. "Grey," She cast a concerned glance to his back before following. She settled on watching him from behind as they scoured the lab's entrance area. After a few hours of searching, they finally made their way into Albert's old laboratory.

"Home sweet home." Grey's stoic tone killed the humor to his sarcasm. The trio entered the old lab and started sifting through every file cabinet they could. Grey, however, could not fully focus on the task. Being surrounded by tubes, life support systems, and idol machinery unsettled him. He only told Ashe once, but he was deeply affected by how his awakening had transpired. Waking up to see people die in front of you and to meet the very person aiming for your head was horrible enough. What really got to him, was that he didn't even know why at the time. It had a phycological effect, some he still can't shake. "Crap," Grey hissed and crumpled the paper he just pulled out. In anger, he threw it behind him.

Ashe gasped when the ball of paper popped her in the head, "Hey, watch where you're throwing things." She silently hoped for a reaction out of Grey, but he simply muttered an apology. Ashe's expression fell and she picked up the paper. "Does it really hurt that bad?" She directed the mumbled question to Grey and undid the ball. She skimmed the paper and bit back a gasp. It was the hard copy for Grey's design, drawings and all. For the first time in a long time, Ashe was forced to remember that Grey was a Reploid. Though the gap between humans and Reploids had closed, there was still the basic fact that reploids were manufactured by humans.

Once again, Exillion watched the pair as they continued to work. He was honestly curious about this development and slightly confused also. He knew they were partners, by do they act so distant now? The white reploid shrugged off the issue and turned to the computers behind him, "Marian, help me hack into the system's mainframe, I suspect Albert might have hidden some data here under a strict code." He began to type on the keyboard while watching useless information wash over the monitor. Suddenly, Exillion stopped typing and stared at a stream of data that had just come up, "Scratch that, look into Project Eden instead, I have a feeling we'll need to know it."

"Voice recognition activated. Scanning... access denied." A female voice came out from the computer when a large red 'X' appeared on the screen.

Ashe and Grey slowly approached the computer in curiosity when they heard the voice respond. "What did you do Exillion?" Ashe peeked over his shoulder and didn't see any special buttons. She then looked up to the screen, which now lacked the red X, and tested her suspicion, "Project Eden,"

"Voice recognition activated. Scanning... access denied." The same voice repeated its refusal.

"I see," Marian leaned back in her seat and stared at the keyboard in front of her. Exillion had sent her the data through a wireless connection and what she saw was interesting. "It seems Albert locked something with a voice activated code. If it's not his voice, then it won't open."

Grey sighed and fought the urge to kick the darned computer, "Great, we get a lead and smash right into a dead-end. How are we supposed to emulate that psycho's voice?"

"Project Eden," Grey and Ashe nearly jumped out of their skin when Exillion spoke in Albert's voice. He ignored their shock and stared at the screen.

"Voice recognition activated. Scanning... access denied."

"WHAT!" Ashe had no qualms with kicking the computer, "He sounded exactly like Albert, what else do you want you stupid thing!?" She got ready to kick the computer again, but Grey pulled her away with another sigh.

"Exillion," Marian addressed the still silent reploid, "how did you manage to copy Albert's voice?"

Exillion remained silent for a few moments before answering, "I used my wireless connection to Biotech's mainframe and accessed a recording of the Sage Trinity's many speeches. I copied his voice patterns and adjusted the tone to fit the phrase." He continued to stare at the screen with his lifeless red eyes before they widened slightly, "I have an idea." He closed his eyes and connected to Biotech's mainframe one more time. He dug as deep as he could go and after a few seconds of waiting, he finally found the file he was looking for. It took two minutes for him to copy the voice patterns and adjust the tone. "Project Eden,"

Grey and Ashe stared at Exillion in confusion. They didn't recognize the voice he used at all, but it got the computer to work.

Back at the base, Marian and Ciel were dumbfounded by the voice Exillion used. "I had forgotten we had that sound file." Marian adjusted her secretary uniform and glanced towards Ciel, "I am truly impressed by Exillion's design. Though not as socially efficient as other reploids, his control over his body is the best I've seen."

"Marian," Ciel glanced at the small device that showed her Zero in the simulation room, "how did you get a hold of a sound file for Doctor Albert Wily?"

In Albert's lab, the trio watched in awe, well... as awed as Exillion can get anyway, as the floor began to lower in the middle. They quickly hopped on as the floor descended with a hiss. The room suddenly went dark and was replaced by strong blue lights. With a hum, machines came to life and a voice welcomed the trio to the lower levels of the lab. "Welcome Master Albert,"

"Talk about being full of yourself," Grey couldn't fight a smirk when Ashe laughed. The small group of scavengers moved into the underground facility, led by a spacey tunnel to another laboratory. "Now we need a freakin' code. For a crazy, power-hungry, dead guy, Albert sure did know about security."

"This is all the code we need." Exillion and Grey looked back, the latter slowly because he knew his partner all too well, and saw Ashe with her pistols raised and ready to fire. She saw Grey open his mouth to protest, so she fired her guns without hesitation, "Wooh!" The strong beam shot out and went straight through the door's large lock like it was paper. Ashe spun her pistols and holstered them with her proud smile on her face. "Ladies first." She raised her boot and kicked down the door.

Grey ran his hand down his face and groaned, "Every time, EVERY TIME, we see a door, you just have to blow it down don't you?" He sighed when Ashe flashed him an innocent grin and turned to Exillion, "I apologize for her, but at least she didn't use her copy of Model FX to blow it to pieces." Exillion simply glanced at him and walked in after Ashe. Grey sighed once more and followed. He was slightly taken back by what he saw inside the room. "What the heck?"

"What is it Grey, did you guys find something?" Marian responded to their reactions of shock.

Ashe ran her hand down one of six glass tubes, all empty with a hole at the top. "Yeah, we came across some test tubes, but whatever was inside is gone now." Her eyes dropped to see fresh gel on the floor. "On top of that, they were recently let loose."

"I found something else." Exillion called Ashe and Grey to the monitor flashing in front of him. "It seems Albert built six Reploids to aide Cero. According to this screen, they were set to release as soon as Cero's awakened."

Grey slammed his first against the wall in pure fury, "Why does that mad-man still end up one step ahead even when he's dead!? How did he even know about Cero in the first place?"

"Albert was named after Professor Albert Wily, colleague to Professor Thomas Light, the father of Megaman X. It is only reasonable to assume that Albert stumbled over Wily's plan and decided to help perfect it. Of course, his own insanity stood in his way in the end." Exillion easily deduced his answer and started typing on the keyboard once more. "We need to find out where they are going and move to counter it."

Ashe and Grey nodded and waited patiently for Exillion to get done. The two decided to take a look around the small underground laboratory and noticed all the notes strewn across the floor. Grey picked one up and his eyes widened at what he saw on the paper. It was filled from top to bottom with the word 'Cero'. "What the heck, what was he, obsessed?"

Back at the base, Marian was receiving the data Exillion was sending to the mainframe. She quickly sifted through the data, and with the help of Ciel, managed to decipher the six locations of the unknown Pseudoroids. However, one piece of data stuck out amongst the rest. Marian deciphered the data and immediately turned to the occupants of the room. "Listen up, we need to deploy everyone in this room NOW!"

Dragoon stopped sipping his soda to stare at her in confusion, as did Harpuia, Fafnir, and Signas. "Why, what's come up this time?"

Marian's eyes looked frantic. "They're going to attack the Sky Lagoon II. Seth is still in his meeting, they're going to kill him!"

"It's not just that." Ciel looked up at the ceiling in realization, "They're going to repeat take out a portion of Area C as well. Cero's control is still spreading and everyone's just sitting in the streets, waiting to be killed if that thing falls!"

Signas stood up and rushed out of the room just as Marian hit the alarm command to her right. "I'll go ahead and run recon on the area, we need to see what we're dealing with."

* * *

"Emergency, this is an emergency scramble order. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!"

Colonel opened an eye as the lights went red and the alarms started screaming in his ear. He calmly looked down to see Prairie had been awakened from her sleep, head rested on Colonel's shoulder. He didn't say anything when she jumped away from him and rushed out of the small room they were. In his usual fashion, Colonel slowly got to his feet and went to follow Prairie out, but a small Cyber Fairy bumped into him first.

"Oof," A small squeak was heard as Iris stumbled back in mid-air, "b-brother, the alarms are going off, we better hurry to the others!" Iris was about to take her place in Colonel's collar, but hesitated. "Wait, didn't Miss Prairie come out of this room?" She cast a confused look up to her stoic brother, but Colonel didn't say anything. "What were you two doing?" Iris gave him a knowing look, but Colonel ignored it.

"Let's go Iris." The former Repliforce officer crisply walked out of the room, Iris smiling on his shoulder.

Elsewhere, Zero was dashing out of the simulation deck and towards the central room. He spotted X's room along the way and decided to swing by to make sure X had heard the alarm. The crimson hunter stepped up to the door and saw it slide open, but the sight he didn't expect. "Uh, should I have knocked?" A small smirk played at his lips when Alia blushed, jumping off of X's lap in embarrassment.

X, unaffected by Zero's sudden entry, stood up from his seat and started out. "No, but we better get a move on, this sounds important!" X sprinted out of the room, Zero and Alia following close behind. When they came to the main hallway that led to the communication room, a certain girl rounded the corner. X slowed slightly at the sight of Aile running beside them, "You alright?"

Aile waited a few paces before nodding her head. She could see the looks of concern on their faces, but pushed it aside. She may be sad over Vent's turn, but she would not become dead weight because of it. In moments, the four of them entered the central room, finding everyone else was there already.

"What's the emergency?" X stepped towards the monitors and looked to Ciel and Marian.

"We have a big problem everyone," Ciel brought up an image of the Sky Lagoon II on the screen, "it seems we have found new enemy movement and their first target is the Sky Lagoon II. We need to send an intercept force to prevent the ship from falling. If it does, the amount of collateral damage and civilian casualties will be in the thousands."

Marian took the pause to bring up six other locations on the screen. "That's not all, Ashe, Grey, and Exillion managed to find information on Cero's forces in these areas. We'll need to send people to investigate the situation."

"Alright, Ciel, you're in charge of communications with the Sky Lagoon. Marian, you'll help with the people going to the six locations and keep them briefed. Alia, Ashe's group still needs someone to keep them on the line so you help them out." X instinctively started dishing out orders, and nobody was complaining. "I'll take Dragoon, Phantom, and Harpuia with me to the Sky Lagoon II. We'll need to evacuate everyone and fight off whatever is attacking it."

Zero stepped forward, "I suggest we put everyone else on standby. We'll divide into teams when we have more information on what to expect in those six locations."

"I already contacted the local police department, they'll be handling the evacuation of Area C. We might need a team to go and help them out just in case." Marian focused her attention on the keyboard and typed in the coordinates into the Transervers.

"Fine, in that case, Marian will be in charge of communications for the evacuation team. Leviathan, Signas, and Aile will handle that." X turned to everyone and nodded confidently, "This is it everyone, we'll need to be focused from here on out. We don't know what we're facing exactly, so stay alert and don't do anything you'll regret." With that, everyone split into their designated teams. Those on standby waited to be deployed anywhere needed.

Fafnir grunted loudly and returned to his hand of cards. "Just when I thought things would get interesting, I get put on standby." He randomly drew a card and scowled, it wasn't what he was hoping for. "Just my luck, I fold."

**A/N: Next chapter, we get to meet the six Pseudroids! Some old faces will be making cameo re-appearances, but who is attacking the Sky Lagoon? Get ready for the return of.... drum roll please.... High Max!**


End file.
